Four Panelists Discuss Historical Cases When Nuclear Weapons Security Was Put at Risk

On October 2, 2012 VCDNP hosted a panel discussion with participants in the Nuclear Policy Education Center's (NPEC) project titled "Nuclear Weapons Security Crisis: What Does History Teach?" A major challenge associated with nuclear stockpiles and related materials is guaranteeing their security in times of political instability or crisis. The project explores cases when such security was at risk and control over nuclear weapons and/or weapons-grade materials was jeopardized and seeks to draw lessons from past experiences for improving control of political authority in the future.

The panel discussion addressed four cases:

• China:
  The study was written by Mark A. Stokes, Executive Director of the Project 2049 Institute (Arlington, VA) and presented by L.C. Russell Hsiao, a Senior Research Fellow at the same organization
• The Soviet Union/Russia:
  Dr. Nikolai Sokov, Senior Fellow at VCDNP
• France:
  Bruno Tertrais, Senior Research Fellow, Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique, Paris
• Pakistan:
  Brig. (ret.) Feroz Khan, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA

The panel was chaired by Executive Director of NPEC Henry D. Sokolski.