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Arms Proliferation and Control

Nuclear Disarmament
commentary
North Korean Actions Speak Louder Than Its Words
Bruce W. Bennett @bwbennett
Oct 11, 2018
Newsweek
Kim Jong Un has regularly promised to denuclearize, but he's been all talk. And this year, North Korea has probably built five to nine more nuclear weapons. There are steps that could make a difference if taken before the North Korean nuclear weapon threat grows any further.
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Iran
commentary
Bringing Back Sanctions Will Hurt U.S. Allies and Iran, but Will It Help the U.S.?
Dalia Dassa Kaye @dassakaye
Aug 7, 2018
The Hill
What happens if leaving the Iran nuclear deal and applying “maximum pressure” doesn't lead Iran to change its behavior or the regime to collapse? The Trump administration may find that it's much easier to break a deal than to replace it with something better.
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Nuclear Terrorism
commentary
Is the Threat of Nuclear Terrorism Distracting Attention from More Realistic Threats?
Antonia Ward @antoniahward
Jul 27, 2018
Georgetown Security Studies Review
A nuclear terrorist attack is currently not a realistic threat. It would require an unprecedented level of sophistication from terrorists. The majority of terrorist attacks are conducted with conventional explosives.
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International Diplomacy
commentary
Making Sense of South Korea's Cautious Optimism on North Korea
Derek Grossman @DerekJGrossman
Jul 24, 2018
Pacific Council on International Policy
South Korea is cautiously optimistic that North Korea will denuclearize, and it hopes that this will lead to the normalization of relations. The vast majority of U.S. observers believe that the North is bluffing. Seoul and Washington should continue to strive for transparency about the future of the peninsula.
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International Diplomacy
commentary
Why This Wasn't Kim's Father's—or Grandfather's—Summit
James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins
Jun 13, 2018
Reuters
This is the third time the United States and North Korea have started down a path toward denuclearization and normalization of relations. The difference now is that Trump and Kim have committed themselves earlier on in the process and more publicly than their predecessors did.
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Security Cooperation
commentary
Kim-Trump Summit Rife with Opportunity for U.S.
Michael J. Mazarr
Jun 11, 2018
The Hill
The growing costs of planning for Korean military contingencies place a burden on U.S. defense resources. If Tuesday's summit becomes a step toward eventual guarantees against aggression, the U.S. could remove a major Korean conflict from the top rungs of its defense planning roster, freeing resources for other worries.
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International Diplomacy
commentary
Six Lessons for Today from Past Summits
William Courtney @courtneywmh, Michael Haltzel
Jun 5, 2018
Fox News Channel
To prepare for possible meetings with his North Korean and Russian counterparts, President Trump can learn lessons from decades of high-profile summits between U.S. presidents and Kremlin leaders.
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U.S.-European Relations
commentary
Assessing Transatlantic Fallout After the U.S. Withdrawal from the Iran Nuclear Deal
James Hoobler
May 31, 2018
American Institute for Contemporary German Studies
The U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal has set off another round of reflection on the state and future of the transatlantic alliance. Though this dispute may not in itself lead to a full breach in the transatlantic relationship, it joins a growing list of sharp disagreements impacting U.S. alliances.
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International Diplomacy
commentary
Canceled Summit Doesn't Spell End to U.S.-North Korea Nuclear Diplomacy
James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins
May 25, 2018
The Hill
President Trump canceled his June 12 meeting with Kim Jong-un but left the door open for a future one. Successful diplomacy will require tending and fostering U.S. relations with China, Japan, and South Korea while forging an entirely new relationship with North Korea.
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International Economic Relations
commentary
Regime Appears Fragile as Iranians Turn Much of Their Ire Inward
Richard C. Baffa @R_Baffa, Nathan Vest
May 21, 2018
The Hill
Economic hardship is fueling unrest in Iran. New sanctions stemming from the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal may exacerbate already difficult conditions. Now might be the time to exert maximum pressure on the regime in an effort to bring Tehran back to the negotiating table.
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U.S.-European Relations
commentary
The Strategic Fallout of U.S. Withdrawal from the Iran Deal
Dalia Dassa Kaye @dassakaye
May 10, 2018
The Hill
President Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear agreement. What will happen next? Friction between the United States and its European allies will likely increase, while Iran moves closer to China and Russia. Also, the resentment of a new generation of Iranians toward America is likely to grow.
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Arms Proliferation and Control
commentary
Iran: The Nuclear Agreement Will Survive, at Least for Now
Richard C. Baffa @R_Baffa
Apr 4, 2018
The Hill
A U.S. unilateral withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal does not necessarily mean the deal will collapse. But a broader collapse of the agreement along with the imposition of harsh sanctions in the coming months could sharply escalate tensions with Iran.
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Nuclear Deterrence
commentary
Red Glare: The Origin and Implications of Russia's 'New' Nuclear Weapons
Austin Long
Mar 26, 2018
War on the Rocks
Why would Russia, which has over 1,500 deployed strategic nuclear warheads that can be delivered from existing ballistic and cruise missiles, invest in new, exotic systems? The answer is deeply rooted in modern Russian and Soviet history.
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North Korea
commentary
What Will Kim Jong Un Want and What He Might Give
James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins
Mar 12, 2018
The Hill
Verifiable denuclearization is an impossible goal, not just because Kim Jong Un may not agree, but because such a deal couldn't be fully verified if he did. But this doesn't mean there is no deal worth making for America.
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International Diplomacy
commentary
Can Europe Save the Iran Nuclear Deal?
Dalia Dassa Kaye @dassakaye, James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins
Mar 12, 2018
Reuters
In mid-January, President Trump threatened to withdraw from the Iran agreement if Europe does not “fix” it within four months. There are viable steps Europe could take to address Trump's concerns about the deal — on missile development, inspections, and sunset clauses. However, if the U.S. withdraws, Europe could still work with other international powers to keep the deal alive.
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Nuclear Disarmament
commentary
Could Putin's Speech Signal the Erosion of Nuclear Nonproliferation?
Daniel M. Gerstein @Daniel_Gerstein
Mar 7, 2018
The Hill
Russian President Vladimir Putin has linked the development of new nuclear weapons capabilities to the United States' refusal to collaborate on arms control. Perhaps before Russia goes down this path, another attempt at dialogue would be beneficial as both nations have expressed a shared interest in limiting nuclear proliferation.
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Arms Proliferation and Control

North Korean Actions Speak Louder Than Its Words

Bringing Back Sanctions Will Hurt U.S. Allies and Iran, but Will It Help the U.S.?

Is the Threat of Nuclear Terrorism Distracting Attention from More Realistic Threats?

Making Sense of South Korea's Cautious Optimism on North Korea

Why This Wasn't Kim's Father's—or Grandfather's—Summit

Kim-Trump Summit Rife with Opportunity for U.S.

Six Lessons for Today from Past Summits

Assessing Transatlantic Fallout After the U.S. Withdrawal from the Iran Nuclear Deal

Canceled Summit Doesn't Spell End to U.S.-North Korea Nuclear Diplomacy

Regime Appears Fragile as Iranians Turn Much of Their Ire Inward

The Strategic Fallout of U.S. Withdrawal from the Iran Deal

Iran: The Nuclear Agreement Will Survive, at Least for Now

Red Glare: The Origin and Implications of Russia's 'New' Nuclear Weapons

What Will Kim Jong Un Want and What He Might Give

Can Europe Save the Iran Nuclear Deal?

Could Putin's Speech Signal the Erosion of Nuclear Nonproliferation?

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