CNS News & Views: August 2020

Middlebury Institute of International Studies

August 2020

Summer Undergraduate Fellowship Concludes

CNS concluded a three-week-long summer online training for the Undergraduate Fellowship in Nonproliferation Studies, held from July 13–31. The regular summer program became a fully virtual training, and will be followed by a semester-long mentorship program and a January term in-person training.

One of the highlights of the Fellowship was an arms-control negotiation simulation on North Korea’s nuclear threats. Undergraduate fellows were assigned to realistically represent one of six countries in a high-stakes emergency summit, including the United States, North Korea, South Korea, Russia, China, and Japan.

We are deeply grateful to Tom and Sarah Pattison for their support of this program and their continued dedication to nonproliferation education.

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Nonpro Notes

The CNS Washington, DC, office launched a new publication series, Nonpro Notes, to share specific insights of its research—the methodologies, tools, and data used—as a way to share its findings and encourage future research and publications.

In the inaugural Nonpro Notes, Research Associate Jamie Withorne assesses algorithmic tools for strengthening strategic trade controls in her paper, "Machine Learning Applications in Nonproliferation."

Download the paper

You, Too, Can Be a Nuclear Detective!

In a project for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), CNS developed a guide for developing your own "new tools" toolbox.

To get a sense of just how powerful these open source "tools" can be, a team led by Jeffrey Lewis developed an interactive Ceros demonstration of a HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) Rapid Infiltration Exercise conducted by the United States and the United Arab Emirates in 2018.

Explore the interactive

Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki

On the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Monterey Herald published an opinion piece by Communications Director Rhianna Tyson Kreger and Senior Project Manager Masako Toki.

"Of the many imperatives the COVID-19 pandemic is teaching us," they write, "the need for international cooperation—research, information sharing, joint training, emergency preparedness, focusing on human security—is paramount.

"From wildfires and murder hornets to coronavirus and civil unrest, the attacks on our security this year have been relentless. But perhaps they are catalytic, too, allowing us to finally learn the lessons of the atomic age, and summon the cooperation and humanity needed to finally end it for good."

The Problem with the Saudi Nuclear Program Isn't Yellowcake

Reports by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times that Saudi Arabia is cooperating with China on a clandestine uranium extraction capability have raised the profile of the Saudi nuclear energy program. But the problem with the Saudi nuclear program is not yellowcake, according to VCDNP Research Associate Noah Mayhew, but rather the country’s safeguards status with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Writing for Inkstick, Mr. Mayhew argues that “people are panicking about the wrong thing.” He says that the international community’s response to the alleged uranium extraction facility should be to put pressure on Saudi Arabia to bring its safeguards agreement up to the “de facto modern standard,” allowing the kingdom to take full advantage of international partnerships to better realize its nuclear-energy goals whilst alleviating proliferation concerns.