... forms of nuclear terrorism would you highlight?
Marc Finaud
Nuclear terrorism, defined as the detonation of one or several nuclear weapons by a terrorist or a terrorist group, is generally considered as a low-probability but high-impact risk. However,... ...
Some measures have already been adopted in the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) or as a result of the Nuclear Security Summits launched by President Obama between 2010 and 2016. In countries possessing nuclear weapons, there should ...
Review of the NTI report “Nuclear Weapons in the New Cyber Age”
The subject of the interrelation of threats in the fields of information and communication technologies and nuclear weapons is gradually becoming one of the dominant topics in current international security issues. In early summer 2019, a group of researchers working under the auspices of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) presented the Russian version of the “
Nuclear Weapons in the New Cyber Age
” report prepared by the Cyber-Nuclear ...
European Think Tanks reflect on the challenges of emerging military technologies
The following points are the fruit of a particularly rich and constructive
roundtable meeting
in Istanbul on 8-9 April of the Task Force on Cooperation in Greater Europe. The points are intended as material for policy discussion by Task Force participants with their authorities not definitive research. But we believe that they offer a useful perspective on the challenges presented by emerging military technologies...
... nuclear component. Such technologies are used or planned for use in order to optimize logistics, improve the efficiency of material and technical services, enhance the capabilities of the Missile Attack Warning System, and increase the sustainability of nuclear weapons control circuits, up to and including direct combat operations. It is difficult to talk about any external restrictions in such conditions, however communication about intentions between the various actors involved in introducing AIMA ...
... Nuclear Forces Treaty (the INF Treaty) signed by the USSR and the United States in 1987. Once again, contrived pretexts are being put forward that fail to convince anyone and yet again show that Washington continues to openly disregard the interests of international security, including the security of its closest allies in Europe, Asia and throughout the world.
It is perfectly clear that the withdrawal of the United States from the INF Treaty will only accelerate the deployment of that type of missile ...
... agreements that are subject to ratification—which have long constituted the structure of arms control—are also on their way out. Not only is it difficult and perhaps even impossible to ratify any national agreement today, especially with regards to nuclear weapons, the ongoing U.S.-Russia confrontation further complicates this process. Under such strained conditions, whether either side is able to guarantee compliance remains an open question. But the fates of the INF and ABM treaties suggest that ...
... the Russian Federation have a shared responsibility to work together along with other nations to clarify our differences and mitigate these risks. Progress can only be made through the engagement of leaders. Moreover, in every country that possesses nuclear weapons, anything relating to nuclear policy is inherently “presidential.”
The reality today is that we have entered a new era, in which a fateful error—triggered by an accident, miscalculation, or blunder—could trigger a nuclear catastrophe....
... risking further proliferation of weapons grade highly enriched uranium (HEU).
Furthermore, Kazakhstan is an example of how a country that willingly denuclearizes can prosper economically and politically. After Kazakhstan got rid of its large repository of nuclear weapons and closed down the world’s largest testing site, both inherited after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the country became a mecca for foreign and multilateral investment. It was also better able to equip its conventional army
and ...
... leaders—and the potential for deliberate cyber threats. In the absence of initiative, we will continue to drift down a path where nuclear weapons use becomes more probable. Governments have a shared responsibility to work together to mitigate these risks. ... ...
Ferdinando Nelli Feroci
President, Istituto Affari Internazionali, Italy
Professor
Roland Paris
University Research Chair in International Security and Governance, University of Ottawa, Canada
Paul Quilès
Former Defence Minister; and Chairman of IDN ...