Managing the Atom

The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 continues to stand as the single most dangerous event of the nuclear age, when the world came closer than ever before or since to the prospect of nuclear annihilation. Scholars and analysts continue to revisit the CMC to learn its lessons in order to avoid nuclear dangers in the future. A number of recent accounts have shed new light on the various aspects of and incidents within the CMC, providing us with a better understanding of the dynamics of the crisis. As the world marks 60 years since those fateful events, the risk of nuclear conflagration is once again on the rise. Russia, a major nuclear power, is waging a war against Ukraine, a state supported by the United States and NATO, a nuclear-armed alliance. What were the most dangerous moments of the CMC? What contributed to and what ameliorated the risks of a nuclear conflagration? What can we learn from the CMC that is pertinent for preventing a conventional war in Ukraine from crossing the nuclear threshold? MTA brings together historians and political scientists to discuss the state of the art of history and politics of the Cuban Missile Crisis and gauge its relevance for the war in Ukraine and for future crises and conflicts. 

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The extension of New START – the last remaining treaty limiting U.S. and Russian nuclear forces -- sustains verifiable limits on Russian nuclear weapons that can reach the United States for the next five years.  Can that time be used to negotiate a follow-on accord that serves both sides interests?  With the collapse of the INF Treaty following Russian cheating and U.S. withdrawal, what can be done to address threats to U.S. and Russian security posed by INF-range missiles?  What other key issues need to be addressed in strategic stability talks – with Russia, with China, or with others?  How can the world community best address the danger of nuclear proliferation – especially when ongoing nuclear modernization in all of the nuclear-armed states is adding to long-standing tensions between nuclear haves and have-nots?  Could the United States and Russia revive their past cooperation to control proliferation and prevent nuclear terrorism? Given the challenging relationship between Russia and the United States, Russia’s violations of some arms control agreements, its annexation of Crimea and military and cyber incursions and provocations along its border and beyond – and Russia’s equally long list of complaints about the United States – what might strategic arms diplomacy look like in the future? How can the proposed U.S.-Russia Summit advance arms control, nonproliferation, and a broader working relationship between the two countries?

Please join the Future of Diplomacy Project (FDP) and the Project on Europe and the Transatlantic (PETR) relationship for a conversation with former NATO Deputy Secretary General, Rose Gottemoeller, Harvard Kennedy School Professor Matthew Bunn, and FDP Senior Fellows, Ambassadors Paula Dobriansky and Doug Lute, moderated by Faculty Chair, Nicholas Burns. 

This event is co-sponsored by the Project on Managing the Atom and by Russia Matters.

Yukiya Amano is Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The IAEA, an intergovernmental organization based in Vienna, works with its Member States and partners to promote safe, secure and peaceful nuclear technologies and prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Co-sponsored by the Project on Managing the Atom and the Future of Diplomacy Project

Please join the Managing the Atom/Defense and Intelligence Projects for a screening of the classic 1964 film, Dr. Strangelove: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb on the 50th anniversary of its release.This co-sponsored event will be followed by a brief discussion on the most important questions the film raises, moderated by Research Fellows and United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonels Jay Folds (MTA/ISP) and Douglas Gosney (ISP).

Pizza and refreshments provided. Please join us - Everyone is welcome, but admittance will be on a first come–first served basis.