Nuclear Issues

The world has crossed over to a new nuclear era, where a fateful error -- rather than intentional aggression -- is the most likely catalyst to nuclear catastrophe.

Former Deputy Secretary of Energy Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall is joining Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs as a Senior Fellow, the Center announced today. Sherwood-Randall, who has served in the White House and Departments of Energy and Defense, is returning to the Center where she worked in the 1990s to help establish two pioneering projects – the Strengthening Democratic Institutions Project with Graham Allison, who this month stepped down as the Center’s director, and the Preventive Defense Project with Ash Carter, the former Secretary of Defense who is the new Belfer Center director.

On October 27, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a hearing titled "Prevention of and Response to the Arrival of a Dirty Bomb at a U.S. Port."

The 2014 Nuclear Security Summit brought together dozens of world leaders focused on preventing nuclear terrorism. So, what was accomplished and what work remains to be done? One way of assessing this is to look at joint statements (also known as “gift baskets”) issued at the Summit in which participants pledged their support to nuclear security initiatives like enhancing radiological security or strengthening nuclear security implementation. These statements present opportunities for countries to endorse specific actions to strengthen nuclear security.