Nuclear Issues

A sampling of articles in the Fall 2017 of the Belfer Center's journal International Security.

International Security is America’s leading journal of security affairs. The International Security journal is edited at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center and published quarterly by the MIT Press. Questions may be directed to IS@harvard.edu.

In 1994, through the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances, Ukraine gave up thousands of nuclear weapons in return for a promise by the U.S. and Russia not to use force against this post-Soviet republic as well as to respect its sovereignty within its existing borders.

In 2014, Ukraine gained the world's attention again as Russia annexed Crimea and protests flared in Ukraine.

A timeline highlights major events and Belfer Center comments on Ukraine.

President Obama’s 2009 announcement of a new international effort to prevent nuclear terrorism highlighted an issue that has long been central to Belfer Center concerns and actions. The Center has played a critical role in supporting the aims of the 2010, 2012, and 2014 nuclear security summits to improve the security of nuclear weapons and materials.

With attention focused on the mostly bad news coming from Ukraine, the good news is that nuclear weapons are not part of the story. In 1993, Ukraine had 2,000 strategic nuclear warheads aimed at targets in America. Today, Ukraine has zero. Four years ago, there remained at risk in Ukraine enough highly enriched uranium for 15 nuclear weapons. The amount today? None. And there’s another bit of good news. As U.S.-Russian relations chilled significantly in March, a group of high-level retired intelligence and military officials from both countries met and issued a statement that the crisis “should not interrupt the joint efforts of the U.S. and Russian Federation to protect our shared strategic interests.” The Elbe Group, established in 2010 by our own Kevin Ryan, is keeping priorities straight. Read more on page 8 of this newsletter.

Harvard’s Iran Matters is an online one-stop shop for best analysis and best facts about the core issues of the Iranian nuclear challenge. A panel of experts at the Belfer Center, co-chaired by Graham Allison and Gary Samore, provides regular updates identifying what the panel judges the best analyses for competing answers to core questions.

Several times each week, the Belfer Center library is filled with students, faculty, and fellows eager to listen, challenge, and exchange information and ideas triggered by the day’s presentation. Many of these talks are by one of the Center’s more than 70 research and senior fellows. This article features a few of the talented women and men who are current and former faculty, fellows, staff and associates of the Belfer Center whose work is making significant contributions in public and private sectors around the world.

Leaders in government, diplomacy, and the non-profit world have been selected by the Belfer Center’s Future of Diplomacy Project for the prestigious 2012 Fisher Family Fellowships.