James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS)
CNS News & Views:
December 2018
 
Screenshot of NYT headline based on November-dated CSIS report
Who's Deceiving Whom? Open-Source North Korea under the Microscope

With geospatial analysis picking up pace and ubiquity, there are complications associated with how to communicate its findings to the public. And so far, analysts and their media partners don't always get it right. 

Writing for NK News, Senior Research Associate and Nonproliferation Review Editor Joshua H. Pollack decries what he calls "sensational ledes and clickbait-y headlines," such as that published in the New York Times when David Sanger and William Broad hyped up a new report by specialists at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The ensuing controversy included, as Pollack noted, "an unusual pair of public rebukes from the Blue House and the White House (not to mention the official North Korean media)." And, like other "fast and loose" reporting (such as that which contributed to the drumbeat of war in 2003), it has the potential of contributing to international tensions, mistrust, and even, ultimately, war.

  Read more.
 VCDNP is located in the Andromeda Tower
VCDNP Featured in Metropole Magazine

Metropole, a Vienna-based, English-language publication geared toward the city's international residents, published a feature story on the work of the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation.

Titled "Behind Closed Doors," the article looks at how the Center provides a much-needed "safe space for diplomacy on nuclear issues," a role that is critically important to mitigate the fallout from arms control setbacks such as the US withdrawal from the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty, its withdrawal from the Iran deal, and heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula.

  Read more.
(L-R): Chen Kane, Robert Einhorn, Corey Hinderstein
Congressional Considerations for a US-Saudi Nuclear Agreement

The future of a possible nuclear-cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia will be debated by the new Congress in 2019. CNS held a luncheon panel at the Senate to discuss the status of the Saudi nuclear program, the drivers behind it, the different possible outcomes of the negotiations, and their implications for US nuclear and foreign policy. 

The panel included Dr. Chen Kane, director of the CNS Middle East Nonproliferation Program, Ambassador Robert Einhorn, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and Ms. Corey Hinderstein, vice president at the Nuclear Threat Initiative.

  Read more .
Fall 2018 CNS Fellows with Amb. Elayne Whyte
Bidding Adieu to the Fall 2018 Visiting Fellows

Another group of visiting fellows have completed their intensive nonproliferation training at CNS this month. For the first time, CNS welcomed representatives from Jamaica and Malaysia to the Visiting Fellows Program. Other participants included diplomats from Chile and China, as well as a chemist from Egypt, the latter thanks to The Robin Copeland Memorial Fellowship

The fellows took part in a semester-long program combining nonproliferation courses at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, a lecture series by CNS experts, and an independent research project, as well as participation in Dr. Bill Potter's Nonproliferation Treaty simulation class.
 
Caroline Gustavson was a Summer 2018 intern
Summer 2018 undergraduate interns present their research

CNS is pleased to accept applications for its undergraduate internship program. This is a unique opportunity for undergraduate students to receive on-the-job training and conduct independent research on issues related to the spread and control of weapons of mass destruction under the guidance of senior CNS faculty. 

Interns attend CNS lectures and training seminars throughout the summer, and receive a stipend at the same rate as graduate research assistants. 

Deadline to apply is February 15, 2019.