5 Events

Oak Ridge National Lab

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Seminar - Open to the Public

Unclear Physics: Why Iraq and Libya failed to build nuclear weapons

Wed., Sep. 20, 2017 | 10:00am - 11:30am

Littauer Building - Fainsod Room, 324

Speaker: Målfrid Braut-Hegghammer, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Oslo

Many authoritarian leaders want nuclear weapons, but few manage to acquire them. Autocrats seeking nuclear weapons fail in different ways and to varying degrees—Iraq almost managed it; Libya did not come close. In this seminar, Målfrid Braut-Hegghammer compares the two failed nuclear weapons programs, arguing that state capacity played a crucial role in the trajectory and outcomes of both projects. 

An Aug. 14, 2011, satellite image shows a facility in Al-Hasakah, Syria. IAEA investigators have asked Syria about this complex, in the image’s lower center, because they believe it closely matches uranium enrichment plant plans sold by A.Q. Khan.

AP Photo

Seminar - Open to the Public

Navigating the Nuclear Marketplace: How States Select Acquisition Strategies

Thu., Feb. 2, 2012 | 12:15pm - 2:00pm

Littauer Building - Belfer Center Library, Room 369

This seminar examines how domestic nuclear markets shape how states seek to acquire nuclear weapons. While scholars have studied the demand and supply drivers of nuclear proliferation extensively, little is known about how these two factors influence the behavior of states pursuing nuclear weapons. Understanding how states come to pursue different nuclear acquisition strategies can shed light on several important issues.

Please join us! Coffee and tea provided. Everyone is welcome, but admittance will be on a first come–first served basis.

Co-sponsored by Project on Managing the Atom

Pakistani lawyers present flowers to disgraced Pakistani nuclear scientist A. Q. Khan, right, upon his arrival to address an event in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Jan. 9, 2010. Khan helped Pakistan develop nuclear weapons.

AP Photo

Seminar - Open to the Public

Nuclear Entrepreneurs: Drivers of Nuclear Proliferation

Thu., Mar. 4, 2010 | 12:15pm - 2:00pm

Littauer Building - Belfer Center Library, Room 369

Why do so few states acquire nuclear weapons? Why do most states abandon their nuclear weapons programs, and what distinguishes those that persevere? In other words, what determines whether states commit to their nuclear weapons programs in the long term? This seminar examines the role of nuclear entrepreneurs in determining the political sustainability of nuclear weapons programs.

PLEASE NOTE NEW DATE!

Please join us! Coffee and tea provided. Everyone is welcome, but admittance will be on a first come–first served basis.

What Makes Vulnerable States Decide For or Against Nuclear Weapons?

NNSA/Nevada Site Office Photo

Seminar - Open to the Public

What Makes Vulnerable States Decide For or Against Nuclear Weapons?

Thu., Dec. 18, 2008 | 12:15pm - 2:00pm

Littauer Building - Belfer Center Library, Room 369

Why do so few vulnerable states pursue nuclear weapons? Why do even fewer actually obtain nuclear weapons? This seminar examines the cases of Iraq and Libya and proposes a multicausal analytical framework for analyzing state decisions about nuclear weapons.

Please join us! Coffee and tea provided. Everyone is welcome, but admittance will be on a first come-first served basis.

ORNL's Jon Kreykes briefs President Bush on Libya's nuclear weapons production equipment sent to Oak Ridge.

Oak Ridge National Lab

Seminar - Open to the Public

Libya’s Nuclear Turnaround

Tue., Nov. 18, 2008 | 9:30am - 11:00am

Littauer Building - Belfer Center Library, Room 369

Malfrid Braut-Hegghammer, a Managing the Atom / International Security Program Research Fellow will present a seminar entitled "Libya's Nuclear Turnaround," on Tuesday November 18, 2008 beginning at 9:30am in the Belfer Center Library.