CNS News & Views: October & November 2021

Middlebury Institute of International Studies

October & November 2021

Setting the Tone for the 10th NPT Review Conference

CNS, in consultation with the President-designate of the 10th Review Conference and the UN Office of Disarmament Affairs, organized a high-level working lunch at the Permanent Mission of Indonesia to the United Nations in New York on October 29, 2021.

Hosted by Ambassador Mohammad K. Koba, Indonesian Charge d’Affaires, the meeting was one of the very first opportunities for a number of key NPT delegations to interact directly with one another and to consult in person with President-designate Ambassador Gustavo Zlauvinen from Argentina. Building on the success of this working lunch and other NPT-related outreach activities, CNS plans to conduct a follow-on virtual NPT seminar in early December 2021. It also has begun preparation for a post-Review Conference workshop in Annecy, France, following its decades long tradition of convening NPT workshops in Annecy.

International Advisory Council Meeting

High-level diplomats, current and former government officials, international civil servants, and funders joined experts at CNS for its annual International Advisory Council (IAC) meeting on October 25, 2021. The meeting was characterized by insightful discussions on the work of CNS and on critical issues faced by the international community related to the global nonproliferation regime and consisted of four substantive sessions: The Future of US-Russian Nuclear Relations; Private-Public Sector Collaboration in the Application of Open Source Tools to Nonproliferation Analysis; What to Expect at the 10th NPT Review Conference; and The Impact of Cyber Operations on US-Sino-Russian Strategic Relations.

All of the panel sessions generated lively and thought-provoking discussion and included very active participation by the diverse group of participants. While many different views were expressed, the meeting was characterized by a common recognition of the vital role CNS plays in mitigating global proliferation threats through its programs of nonproliferation education, training, and policy-oriented research.

Ten Years On: VCDNP By the Numbers

For 10 years the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation (VCDNP) has been a hub in Vienna, Austria, for training diplomats and practitioners in nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament. Since 2011 the VCDNP has held: 21 intensive short courses for 550 diplomats and practitioners with an average of 26 participants per course; offered several specialized courses in nuclear security, IAEA safeguards, EU nonproliferation and disarmament, and an Ambassadors mini-course; and facilitated annual diplomatic workshops, salon dinners, and cross-cutting dialogues that have brought together more than 50 experts from the IAEA, nuclear supplier governments, industry representatives, and research institutions, among numerous other initiatives. The VCDNP actively engages directly with the international organizations in Vienna, and in particular the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Center, the VCDNP has collated some highlights from a decade of work.

Read highlights

Critical Issues Forum 4th Speaker Series: Technology and Education for Nuclear Disarmament

On October 8, 2021, The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) hosted the Critical Issues Forum’s (CIF) fourth Speaker Series featuring keynote speaker Ms. Mary Popeo, co-founder of Peace Culture Village (PCV) in Hiroshima, Japan. At PCV, Ms. Popeo introduces visitors to the devastating humanitarian impacts of the atomic bombing and helps preserve the stories of Hibakusha (atomic bombing survivors) by using immersive technology during Peace Park tours in Hiroshima.

The theme of this speaker series was “Using Technology and Education to Bring the Past to the Present and the Future for Nuclear Disarmament.” Ms. Popeo elaborated on how PCV collaborated with international partners to create an app to bring life to the stories of Hibakusha and help facilitate a more intimate connection to past events by using augmented reality. Following the keynote speech, attendees participated in a panel discussion, breakout session, and sharing of takeaways.

Watch the recording

Deterrence and Emerging Technologies (DET) Webinar Series

The stability of nuclear and conventional deterrence between major rivals is one of the most important elements of international security. It is widely believed that it helped avoid a large-scale war by allowing the political and military leaderships to plan foreign and defense policy, avert undesired conflicts, and control the arms race while maintaining the ability to adequately respond to the attack of an opponent. However, a host of recently emerging technologies, some of which have not yet reached maturity, are already affecting the stability of traditional deterrence relationships between the West and Russia and now also between the West and China.

The VCDNP Deterrence and Emerging Technologies (DET) Webinar Series explored the impact of these new technologies on the stability of deterrence, as well as the opportunities some new technologies can offer for arms control and confidence building measures. The series consisted of the following six webinars, summaries, and recordings, which are available on the VCDNP website.