Managing the Atom

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.

In his new book, THE IMPOSSIBLE STATE: North Korea, Past and Future (Ecco), former Director for Asian Affairs at the National Security Council Victor Cha argues that North Korea is in an untenable and combustible situation—one that the next U.S. president will have no choice but to confront.

Senior Fellow and former IAEA Deputy Director General Olli Heinonen will discuss the North Korean nuclear program.

Before joining the Belfer Center as a senior fellow in August 2010, Olli Heinonen spent 27 years at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. Heinonen spent the last five years as Deputy Director General of the IAEA, and head of its Department of Safeguards. He led the Agency's efforts to identify and dismantle nuclear proliferation networks, including the one led by Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan, and he oversaw its efforts to monitor and contain Iran's nuclear program. Heinonen led teams of international investigators to examine nuclear programs of concern around the world. He inspected nuclear facilities in South Africa, Iraq, North Korea, Syria, Libya, and elsewhere, seeking to ensure that nuclear materials were not diverted for military purposes. He is considered one of the world's leading experts on Iran's nuclear program. He led the Agency's efforts in recent years to implement an analytical culture to guide and complement traditional verification activities.

Prof. Vipin Narang will discuss the dynamics and dangers of escalation in the context of the Indian and Pakistani nuclear arsenals.