Science, Technology, and Public Policy

Speaker: Sébastien Philippe, Stanton Nuclear Security Postdoctoral Fellow, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom

Most successful nuclear weapons programs have benefited from significant foreign assistance for the acquisition of nuclear materials, sensitive equipment, and know-how. Such assistance is often kept secret, even after states decide to put an end to their nuclear weapons programs or ambitions. This seminar will discuss the policy and verification implications of this source of opacity on the reconstruction of past nuclear military activities as part of non-proliferation or denuclearization agreements.  It will build upon an historical and technical analysis of nuclear assistance between France, Israel, and South Africa and conclude by discussing the impact of discovering previously hidden information on existing policies and ongoing diplomatic processes.

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

This seminar will examine these political effects of nuclear acquisition in the cases of France, China, Israel, and South Africa and reflect on the likely political consequences of eventual Iranian nuclear acquisition.

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Dr. Lassina Zerbo has been the Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization since August of 2013. In this Project on Managing the Atom seminar, he will discuss the state of the CTBTO and its Verification System.

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Under what conditions do states use preventive military force to forestall or destroy an adversary's nuclear weapons program? If nuclear weapons are so dangerous, why do leaders disagree about the magnitude of the threat posed by specific nuclear programs?

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Libya's decision to give up its nuclear weapons ambitions has been interpreted by most observers as support for the idea that mixed strategies are good policy. Although they disagree over which particular tools of influence were most important, most agree that some mixture of coercion and inducements explains Gaddafi's decision to disarm. This is not, however, supported by the evidence.

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

Economic sanctions have long been derided as ineffective instruments of foreign policy and yet continue to remain a principal tool for preventing the spread of nuclear weapons across nations. This seminar will analyze the impact of sanctions on nuclear programs based on case studies of Taiwan, Iraq, Libya, and Iran. It offers an understanding of the limits and possibilities of sanctions, showing that they can sometimes play a critical role in coercing nuclear aspirants.

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One of the major unsolved puzzles of international politics is why only some states acquire nuclear weapons, whereas others never start a weapons program or even renounce their activities. A new theoretical framework based on the literature of American Pragmatism overcomes long-standing theoretical disaccords and provides a better understanding of the issues underlying states' decision-making. Insights from the cases of Switzerland and Libya will be applied in order to show the benefits of such an alternative approach.

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Mr. Saxton will elaborate on the mission of AFRICOM, which entails coordinating the kind of support that will enable African governments and existing regional organizations to have greater capacity to provide security and respond in times of need. Mr. Saxton will discuss the interplay between security and development in Africa and how a new model for civil-military cooperation can contribute to both.

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The lecture explores the role of universities in Africa's development. It seeks to explore new avenues for promoting Africa-U.S. university cooperation, especially in fields related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

In July 2009, Seacom, a Mauritius-based firm, launched its $700 million undersea fiber optic cable connecting eastern Africa to the rest of the world with high-speed, low-cost Internet. Based off field observations, this talk explores the economic and policy implications of what is probably the most important infrastructure investment in eastern Africa since the construction of colonial railways.

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