Nuclear Issues

On April 2, 2015, Matthew Bunn presented "The Iranian Nuclear Deal: Benefits and Risks" at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This presentation assess the benefits and risks of the Iranian deal compared to plausible alternatives.

On February 16, 2015, Professor of Practice Matthew Bunn presented "The Iranian Nuclear Crisis: Next Steps" for the Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations.

Hui Zhang presented "Enhancing Nuclear Security Culture in China" at The 14th PIIC Beijing Seminar on International Security:Strategic Stability and Cooperation, Hangzhou, China, October 19-22, 2014.

Professor Matthew Bunn gave a lecture at Carnegie Mellon University offering approaches to assessing the proliferation-resistance and terrorism-resistance of nuclear energy systems.

On October 1, 2014, MTA/ISP Senior Research Fellow Trevor Findlay presented "The IAEA’s Nuclear Safeguards Culture: ‘Candy Concept’ or Powerful Prism?" as part of the Project on Managing the Atom Seminar Series.

Dr. Hui Zhang presented "Options for China’s Nuclear Spent Fuel Management" at the Workshop on Strategic Nuclear Issues in East Asia, Beijing, China March 5-6, 2014.

Despite substantial progress in improving nuclear security in recent years, there is more to be done.  The threats of nuclear theft and terrorism remain very real. This presentation recommends learning from the much stronger national and international efforts in nuclear safety, and in particular, taking steps to build international understanding of the threat; establish effective performance objectives; assure performance; train and certify needed personnel; build security culture and exchange best practices; reduce the number of sites that need to be protected; and strengthen the international framework and continue the dialogue once leaders are no longer meeting regularly at the summit level. Matthew Bunn presented this talk, based on a recent paper, on July 3rd, 2013 at the International Conference on Nuclear Security in Vienna.

This seminar considered how the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reacted to nuclear crises. The IAEA often appears not just to have weathered such crises, but to have successfully leaped through windows of opportunity presented by them. This has resulted in periodic expansions of its mandate, capabilities, and resources. The 2011 Fukushima disaster appears to be a puzzling exception, raising the question of what concatenation of factors needs to be present for the IAEA to take advantage of nuclear crises.

Presentation at the 13th PIIC Beijing Seminar on International Security: Building a World of Sustainable Peace and Stability, Oct.31 – Nov.3, 2012, Beijing, China