Managing the Atom

Over the past several decades, the nuclear field has developed a classical canon of seemingly sacred texts. These works are likely to be assigned in university-level courses on nuclear policy across the United States and the globe. Over the past few years, however, the nuclear field – just as affected by hierarchies and injustices as other social milieus – has been shaken by calls to critically rethink the global nuclear predicament and engage with more diverse voices and perspectives. This must involve interrogating the transmitter of nuclear knowledge: the academic syllabus. It is imperative to revisit how nuclear courses are taught, what questions are raised, and what texts are assigned. Accordingly, MTA brings together a group of exceptional scholars and long-time teachers of nuclear history and politics to discuss challenges, discoveries, frustrations, and the importance of teaching the bomb in the 21^st century.

The Tenth Review Conference (RevCon) of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) will take place from 1 to 26 August 2022 at the United Nations' in New York.

On Thursday, August 11, from 10am-12 pm, the Project on Managing the Atom will host an in-person only conference side-event titled "Atomic Backfires: How Great Power Nuclear Policies Fail" in Conference Room B.

This panel discussion will launch a book by the same name. Moderated by Francesca Giovannini, the panel will include the following speakers: David M. Allison, Sarah Bidgood, Hyun-Binn Cho, Stephen Herzog, and Ariel F. W. Petrovics.

For questions regarding event attendance and logistics, please contact Project on Managing the Atom's Project Coordinator, Marina Lorenzini, at mlorenzini@hks.harvard.edu. We are unable to provide badges to members of the public to enter the conference.

The first Meeting of the States Parties to the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) will convene in Vienna, Austria at the end of June 2022. This seminal diplomatic meeting of states that argue nuclear weapons undermine global security occurs at a time marked by unprecedented anxiety over potential nuclear weapon use. Yet, academic debates in nuclear politics have for decades been dominated by questions related to nuclear deterrence, proliferation, and nonproliferation. Studies on nuclear disarmament have long received relatively little attention in mainstream scholarly discourse. As the TPNW emerges as a new element in the landscape of multilateral nuclear diplomacy, academic inquiry must keep pace with political realities.

Moderated by Matthew Fuhrmann, the panel features Rebecca Davis Gibbons, Kjølv Egeland, Hassan Elbahtimy, Stephen Herzog, Tamara Patton, and Olamide Samuel.

The panel is convened by MTA as part of the Research Network on Rethinking Nuclear Deterrence.

While this virtual event is on the record, the event organizers prohibit any attendees, including journalists, from audio/visual recording or distributing parts or all of the event program without prior written authorization.

Speaker: Dr. Mansoor Ahmed, Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Center for International Strategic Studies in Islamabad, Pakistan

Discussants: Dr. Mayumi Fukushima, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom and the International Security Program, Belfer Center

Dr. Steven E. Miller, Director of the International Security Program, Belfer Center

The Project on Managing the Atom (MTA) hosts a reflective and policy-oriented discussion focused on Pakistan's development of its nuclear arsenal and implications for South Asian security today.

For members of the public (HUID and non-HUID holders), please register for the Zoom webinar event here. You will be able to watch the event live through Zoom.

For those who wish to attend in-person (HUID holders only), please register for a seat in the conference room here.

While this virtual event is on the record, the event organizers prohibit any attendees, including journalists, from audio/visual recording or distributing parts or all of the event program without prior written authorization. 

We are excited to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Managing the Atom!

For 25 years, MTA—with support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Frankel Foundation, and many other generous donors—has endeavored to nurture new generations of nuclear scholars and inform policy through fact-based analysis. In recognition of the anniversary, we will reflect upon our history as a program, as well as current challenges and opportunities facing the global landscape. The highlight of the event is Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs, Bonnie Jenkins, in conversation with MTA co-principal investigator, Matthew Bunn. 

Preliminary schedule:

9:00-10:15am - Introduction and discussion with MTA founders

10:15-10:30am - Break

10:30-11:45am - Panel on the war in Ukraine and the future of the global nuclear order

11:45am-noon - Break

noon-1:00pm - Special Guest in conversation with Matthew Bunn

1:00pm - Close of events

While this virtual event is on the record, the event organizers prohibit any attendees, including journalists, from audio/visual recording or distributing parts or all of the event program without prior written authorization.

The Project on Managing the Atom is excited to announce the launch of a research network, funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, focused on engaging with and re-examining the role of nuclear deterrence.  The deterrence network will bring together geographically and intellectually diverse people and organizations to examine one of the most critical security issues facing the world.

To kick off the event, we will introduce foundational ideas and key actors to the start of the network. We will also feature a keynote from Dr. John P. Holdren, the Teresa and John Heinz Research Professor of Environmental Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, and former Science Advisor and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) under President Obama.

Preliminary Schedule: 

9:00-10:00am - Introduction the Deterrence Network and foundational partners

10:00-10:15am - Break

10:15-11:45am - Remarks by Deterrence Network Working Groups

11:45am-noon - Break

noon-1:00pm - Keynote address by Dr. John P. Holdren

While this virtual event is on the record, the event organizers prohibit any attendees, including journalists, from audio/visual recording or distributing parts or all of the event program without prior written authorization.

Please Note New Date.

Speakers:  Joseph S. Nye, Professor Emeritus, HKS;  Nobukatsu Kanehara, Former Assistant Chief Cabinet Secretary to Prime Minister of Japan; Mayumi Fukushima, Postdoctoral Fellow, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom

Moderator: David Sanger, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center

The panelists will discuss how Putin's war in Ukraine may affect the security landscape of East Asia.

Everyone is welcome to join via Zoom! Please register in advance here: https://harvard.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMqduCppz8rH90D4Go7vF_gg_0xNpdNCRDO 

Project on Managing the Atom (MTA) hosts a timely discussion focused on the nuclear implications of the evolving conflict in Ukraine. Our panelists will discuss the Budapest Memorandum, security of Ukrainian nuclear facilities, and the risks of nuclear escalation.

For members of the public (HUID and non-HUID holders), please register for the Zoom webinar event here. You will be able to watch the event live through Zoom.

For those who wish to attend in-person (HUID holders only), please register for a seat in the conference room here. Seating is limited.

While this virtual event is on the record, the event organizers prohibit any attendees, including journalists, from audio/visual recording or distributing parts or all of the event program without prior written authorization. 

A Project on Managing the Atom (MTA) seminar with Mariana Budjeryn, Research Associate with MTA, and Amb. Steven Pifer, William J. Perry Fellow, CISAC, Stanford University, and former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine.

Nuclear weapons and nuclear reactors are designed, built, deployed, and managed—with intention and purpose—by human beings embedded in and shaped by institutional, social, and political contexts. These contexts affect how people interpret and respond to the benefits and dangers of nuclear technologies. But whose interpretations and modes of reasoning count as authoritative, competent, and trustworthy—and whose are discounted or dismissed?

This event is hosted by the Project on Managing the Atom (MTA) as part of its Atomic Voices series, a discussion forum for perspectives on diversity, inclusion, and belonging in the nuclear field.