CNS News & Views: April 2023

Middlebury Institute of International Studies

April 2023

Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Short Course

The VCDNP held its regular five-day intensive short course on nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament for policymakers and practitioners from March 20 - 24, 2023. Topics explored during the course consisted of the nuclear fuel cycle, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the history of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), relevant international regimes, regional case studies, and the nexus between nuclear security and peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

The short course consisted of several sessions with prominent experts in the field, a public webinar on the “nuclear taboo” and the risk of the use of nuclear weapons, a roundtable conversation with Vienna-based ambassadors on Vienna issues, an alumni panel discussion, and visits to the headquarters of the IAEA and the Comprehensive Nuclear‑Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). The course welcomed participants from 25 countries and women made up 52% of course participants.

Black Sea Women in Nuclear Network: Women’s History Month

On March 28, 2023, the Black Sea Women in Nuclear Network (BSWN) celebrated Women’s History Month by hosting the Black Sea Experts NucTalks that focused on women's leadership in the field.

The virtual webinar featured Dr. Şebnem Udum, Associate Professor in the Department of International Relations at Hacettepe University; Alona Samsonenko, Leading Engineer at the George Kuzmych Training Center (GKTC), Institute of Nuclear Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine; Rhonda Evans, Head of Programme Development at the World Institute for Nuclear Security, and Anton Gabriel Culea, Nuclear Operator at CNE Cernavoda NPP, Romania. Speakers noted the importance of organizational culture, talent management, and the development of leadership pathways to encourage women to enter the nuclear sector. The conversation that followed emphasized the need for continued discussions of equal rights and gender balance within the nuclear community, considering that few women in nuclear fields reach executive levels.

Watch the recording

The Human Dimension to Kazakhstan’s Plutonium Mountain

Adventures in Nuclear Risk Reduction is an evolving project created by the Stanley Center for Peace and Security that aims to facilitate intergenerational knowledge transfer by publishing stories on first-person experiences with risk reduction and elevating them for discussion between practitioners and early or mid-career experts.

CNS Distinguished Professor of Practice, Dr. Siegfried (Sig) Hecker, recently published a powerful story for the Adventures in Nuclear Risk Reduction project that brings readers behind the scenes of “the greatest nonproliferation story never told.” Dr. Hecker explains how these stories have human dimensions that need to be told and reveals the backstory of how he got to Kazakhstan and developed the personal relationships and trust that paved the way for the trilateral cooperation at Semipalatinsk. This story is based on his detailed notes from the trips to Kazakhstan that have not been shared previously.

Read the story

Inspectors for Peace: A History of the IAEA

The VCDNP hosted Dr. Elisabeth Röhrlich for a presentation of her book, Inspectors for Peace: A History of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Informed by extensive research in the Archives of the IAEA, Inspectors for Peace is the first comprehensive independent study of the IAEA’s history that unpacks stories that illustrate why the IAEA and its safeguards system have been vital for protecting international security for over 60 years, why and how the IAEA was created, how its mandate has evolved, and the ways it has dealt with momentous challenges.

Dr. Röhrlich began the presentation by exploring the difficult circumstances of the IAEA’s creation and continued to discuss allegations of the IAEA’s politicization, the famous “Vienna spirit”, and how leadership styles have influenced which issues the IAEA gets involved in and how it positions itself. The event was moderated by VCDNP Research Associate, Noah Mayhew.

Watch the recording

Women in STEM in Latin America and the Caribbean 2023 Symposium

CNS and the Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares (IPEN) are hosting this year's “Nuclear Nonproliferation and Security for Women in STEM in Latin America and the Caribbean” symposium in São Paulo, Brazil June 19-23, 2023.

The symposium will promote the participation of women in science, technology, and innovation and aims to support worldwide efforts in promoting women in the areas of nuclear nonproliferation, peaceful uses, and nuclear security. The course program will feature leading international and regional experts and practitioners from academia, national governments, and international organizations. This is a cost-free event to regional participants.

Applications to attend are due May 12, 2023. Spread the word!