Nuclear Issues

Whether they regard it as competitive, cooperative, or confrontational, virtually all observers agree that the U.S.-China relationship is consequential. From cyber norms and AI to military tensions in the Taiwan Strait and the global struggle to turn the tide on climate change, how Washington and Beijing manage their shared future will shape the globe for decades to come. Through research and relationship-building, the Center is dedicated to helping the U.S. and China collaborate and compete without conflict.

Whenever Washington or Moscow unveils a new weapon, ears in the other capital perk up and analysts try to divine how the new system fits into U.S. or Russian military strategy—not least of all, strategy toward its Cold War-era nemesis. But how often do decisions related to national security arise because of institutional forces only tenuously related to states’ strategic planning? More specifically, how do the countries’ respective defense industries influence policy? The Belfer Center’s Russia Matters project asked two scholars—one American, one Russian—to investigate the latter question. Their articles, published in November, reveal fascinating differences (and similarities) in the way this influence is exercised in countries with vastly different political and economic systems.

In the days and weeks following the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others, the Belfer Center community joined in the public outcry against individual and systemic racism and began an intensive look inward at what must be done to dismantle the racism that continues in the United States. Affiliates of the Project on Managing the Atom are looking inward at the nuclear field as part of their effort to eliminate racism in the U.S.

In this issue, we highlight five new books by Belfer Center members.

While the Middle East Initiative is focused entirely on the MENA region, several other Center programs are also working on issues related to the Middle East, including Future of Diplomacy, Geopolitics of Energy, and the Managing the Atom.

During their tenth annual meeting in Reykjavík in March, the U.S.-Russian Elbe Group of retired senior military and intelligence officials discussed a range of issues and agreed on specific recommendations to help improve U.S.-Russian bilateral relations.