Recommendations for Action

The following documents include recommendations on strengthening nuclear security for policymakers as well as operators of nuclear facilities and facilities using radiological materials. These documents are drawn from Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, as well as from other leading scholars and organizations working on issues of nuclear security and nuclear terrorism.

Prospects for the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit and Beyond
November 2015 | Conference Panel Transcript
International Institute for Strategic Studies

A special session on this year’s summit was held at the 2015 European Union Non-proliferation and Disarmament Conference. Chaired by IISS’s Matthew Cottee, panel members included Elena Sokova, Deputy Director of James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies; Werner Bauwens, Belgium’s Special Envoy for Disarmament and Non-proliferation; and Thomas Countryman, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation. The discussion included overviews, assessments, and some debate over the summit process’s results.

Planning for Success at the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit
December 2013 | Policy Analysis Brief
The Stanley Foundation
By William H. Tobey
"The Y-12 incident was not a wake-up call merely for the United States. It and a score of other nuclear security incidents must rouse all states with fissile material to greater vigilance and inform their actions at the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit. These failures in nuclear security must compel actions by the leaders at The Hague in 2014. The need to improve nuclear security remains urgent and real." (click here to view)

Five Actions for the 2014 Summit
March 2014 | Policy Recommendations
Nuclear Security Governance Experts Group

"At the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit, the assembled nations should commit to eliminating weak links in the global system and support its continuous improvement with the following [five] actions." (click here to view)

All Stocks of Weapons-Usable Nuclear Materials Worldwide Must be Protected Against Global Terrorist Threats
Winter 2011 | Journal Article
The Journal of Nuclear Materials Management
By Matthew Bunn and Evgeniy P. Malsin

This article argues countries should, at a minimum, protect against a baseline set of adversary capabilities that all stocks of nuclear weapons, plutonium, or HEU should be protected against, no matter what country they are in, including both insiders and outsiders and a range of potential tactics. It recommends that countries facing more substantial adversary threats put even more capable security systems in place. (click here to view)

OTHER RESOURCES

Endgame for the Nuclear Security Summits
January 2014 | Article
Arms Control Today
By Kenneth N. Luongo

"The upcoming summit in The Hague in March and the subsequent summit in the United States offer an opportunity to eliminate persistent weak links in the regime and improve nuclear security governance. By linking these two events in a strategic endgame, the summit participants can significantly strengthen the existing system and create a platform for continuous nuclear security progress after the series of summits ends." (click here to view)

Policy Recommendations: Consensus Policy Recommendations to Prevent Nuclear Terror from the Fissile Material Working Group
October 2013 | Policy Recommendations
Fissile Material Working Group

"The Fissile Materials Working Group (FMWG), a non-governmental coalition of more than 70 organizations in 31 countries, is committed to improving fissile materials security through the development of actionable policy proposals, as well as advocacy for government adoption and implementation of improved policies....This is not a complete or exhaustive list of all actions that world leaders should consider, but it does represent key priorities that can lead to a more secure nuclear future." (click here to view)

Building International Confidence and Responsibility in Nuclear Security
June 2013 | Working Paper
Nuclear Security Governance Experts Group

“The Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) process has helped begin a dialogue among more than 50 countries about strengthening the global nuclear security regime. The states’ national responsibility for protecting the nuclear and radioactive materials on their territory has been continually emphasized in all summit documents. But there is also a global responsibility for the security of these materials. Unfortunately, the international infrastructure for preventing unauthorized releases of radiation is underdeveloped. It is largely a voluntary patchwork of limited multilateral treaties and agreements. This system fails to adequately capture the responsibility that states have to one another and the global public to prevent nuclear and radiological terrorism.” (click here to view)

Nuclear Terrorism and Global Security: The Challenge of Phasing out Highly Enriched Uranium
April 2013 | Book
Routledge
Edited by Alan J. Kuperman

"This book examines the prospects and challenges of a global phase-out of highly enriched uranium—and the risks of this material otherwise being used by terrorists to make atom bombs." (click here to view)

Responsibility Beyond Rules: Leadership for a Secure Nuclear Future
March 2013 | Report
Nuclear Security Governance Experts Group

"This document details five steps and 30 recommendations for significantly strengthening the global nuclear security regime and creating the foundation for its long-term effectiveness and adaptability. These steps and the recommendations result from three international workshops held by the Nuclear Security Governance Experts Group (NSGEG) in 2012. The goal is to enable substantial nuclear security regime improvements by 2020. The five steps forward are: (1) defining the scope of nuclear security; (2) universalizing the current regime; (3) adopting the principle of continuous improvement; (4) addressing political challenges; and (5) creating a unifying instrument." (click here to view)

Promoting Greater Transparency for Effective Nuclear Security
February 2013 | Working Paper
Nuclear Security Governance Experts Group

“From the Nuclear Security Governance Experts Group (NSGEG) September 2012 Workshop on Building Transparency in Nuclear Security, this report provides initial policy recommendations on how existing structures can be used to make the system more effective and transparent, incentivizing transparency in the nuclear industry, protecting information in a more transparent environment, and closing the communication gaps among stakeholders.” (click here to view)

Options for Strengthening the Global Nuclear Security System
October 2012 | White Paper
Nuclear Threat Initiative

"At the first meeting of the Global Dialogue on Nuclear Security Priorities, the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) proposed that the global nuclear security system required strengthening and identified five characteristics of what should comprise such a strengthened system....We believe a system that meets these characteristics can be achieved by strengthening existing mechanisms and through voluntary measures implemented by states in the near term. It does not require the negotiation of a new legal mechanism or convention at this time." (click here to view)

Improving Nuclear Security Regime Cohesion
September 2012 | Conference Report
Nuclear Security Governance Experts Group

"From the Nuclear Security Governance Experts Group (NSGEG) July 2012 Workshop on Improving Nuclear Security Regime Cohesion, this report provides initial policy recommendations on addressing gaps in the current regime, identifying long-term political and technical drivers of progress, and incentivizing closer coordination among states and other actors. It also discusses how the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit can help create a unified and durable platform for a secure nuclear future." (click here to view)

Building a Better International Nuclear Security Standard
March 2012 | Working Paper
U.S.-Korea Institute at SAIS
By William H. Tobey

"This paper illustrates the threat of nuclear terrorism and argues that, with their years of experience, the United States and Russia should articulate a nuclear security “gold standard” to other states." (click here to view)

Nuclear Disorder: Surveying Atomic Threats
January 2010 | Journal Article
Foreign Affairs
By Graham Allison

This article argues that trendlines are propelling the world towards a "tipping point" for proliferation and nuclear terrorism. It argues that President Obama’s agenda is the most substantial effort to revitalize the nuclear order since President Kennedy. (click here to view)

Appropriate Effective Nuclear Security and Accounting: What Is It?
July 2008 | Presentation
By Matthew Bunn

This presentation outlines UNSCR 1540 and makes recommendations for providing appropriate and effective nuclear security, material control, and accounting. (click here to view)