Science, Technology, and Public Policy

Cyber Security Project Director Michael Sulmeyer moderates a discussion on election hacking with CrowdStrike Inc. CEO and Co-Founder Dmitri Alperovitch, President of Verified Voting Pamela Smith, and Cyber Security Project Fellow Ben Buchanan 

Iran's failure to comply with its non-proliferation obligations is viewed as one of the most urgent threats to the nuclear non-proliferation regime and international peace and security. Given that diplomacy has thus far not been successful in changing that country's conduct, the only available options for dealing with the problem seem to be increasingly crippling sanctions and, possibly, military strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities. The seminar presentation challenges the above assumptions by drawing attention to the absence of serious diplomatic efforts and lack of understanding of what is at stake for Iran in the dispute.

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

This presentation asks why states without nuclear weapons fight opponents with nuclear weapons. The presentation critically examines the claim that states believe opponents will not use nuclear weapons in conflict.

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

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

Why are some regulatory arrangements such as the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty and Landmines Convention weak, while others like the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) more robust? In this seminar, the speaker suggests that while states negotiate institutions for a variety of purposes, only those institutions built by powerful states to regulate the behavior of weaker states are likely to be strong and effective in changing state behavior. The speaker tests his theory with a brief overview of security institutions in different issue areas selecting cases to provide variation in institutional strength — spread of nuclear weapons, use of land mines, use of force in post–Cold War Europe (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), and missile defense during the Cold War (ABM Treaty).

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