Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland

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    Expanding Nuclear Weapons State Transparency to Strengthen Nonproliferation
    (Center for International & Security Studies at Maryland, 2015-03-12) Siegel, Jonas
    In the years since the 2000 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference, NPT nuclear weapons states have engaged in consequential transparency measures about their stockpiles of nuclear weapons and materials. The level of transparency thus far achieved, however, has proven uneven in terms of the types and amounts of information released and in terms of the frequency of those releases—and most importantly, has not contributed significantly to fulfillment of these states NPT commitments. Nuclear weapons states should reassess the scope of their transparency efforts to date and consider expanding the types of information that they reveal to provide international assurances and achieve gains in support of the nuclear nonproliferation regime. This paper identifies particular steps that these states could take to fulfill the desire for greater transparency that move beyond declarations of the number and status of nuclear weapons and nuclear materials. In particular, it focuses on how transparency can be expanded about the operational practices and protocols that govern the day-to-day management of their military nuclear materials—their warheads, weapons components, and material stockpiles—and how transparency in this area would contribute to fulfilling their disarmament and nonproliferation commitments.
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    Emerging Demands on National Nuclear Material Accounting Systems
    (2011-07) Siegel, Jonas
    This paper provides an overview of how national nuclear material accounting systems are evolving as a consequence of expanded safeguards requirements, international policy initiatives, as well as those changes dictated by other distinct national-level priorities. It also argues that global nuclear energy development, changes in prevailing nuclear fuel cycle policies, and the negotiation of nuclear nonproliferation and arms control agreements could require further changes in material accounting practices that move beyond the current incremental evolution. These developments would usher in a radically different nuclear landscape that would require fundamental shifts in the design and operation of national nuclear material accounting systems to ensure operational efficiency and global security.
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    Faith and Global Policy Challenges Questionnaire
    (2011-12) Kull, Steven; Steinbruner, John; Gallagher, Nancy; Ramsay, Clay; Lewis (aka Fehsenfeld), Evan; Siegel, Jonas; Jones, Kevin; Subias, Stefan
    This document includes the complete survey questionnaire for the study "Faith and Global Policy Challenges," as well as the study's raw data.
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    Faith and Global Policy Challenges
    (2011-12) Kull, Steven; Steinbruner, John; Gallagher, Nancy; Ramsay, Clay; Lewis (aka Fehsenfeld), Evan; Siegel, Jonas; Jones, Kevin; Subias, Stefan
    In an effort to understand how the general public and individuals with specific religious traditions think that their spiritual faith intersects with global policy challenges, the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM) and its Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) conducted a public opinion poll. This poll is part of a larger effort to engage faith communities in addressing these challenges. As national governments and civil society contend with these issues, the involvement of religious communities and the application of their convictions could prove decisive.
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    Media Coverage of Iran's Nuclear Program
    (CISSM Report, 2013-04) Siegel, Jonas; Barforoush, Saranaz
    News coverage of the lead-up to the 2003 US invasion of Iraq had a significant impact on the distorted understanding of the public in regards to the justifications for the decision to go to war. In order to gauge the media was covering US and International discussions about Iran’s nuclear program in a similar manner, the Center for International Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM) analyzed a sample of the newspaper coverage from six influential English newspapers. The newspapers that were covered are the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Financial Times, the Guardian and the Independent. The study found that newspapers framed their coverage of the issue in a manner that emphasized official western narratives of the dispute thereby presenting a narrow range of policy choices available to officials. Furthermore, the coverage did not consistently describe the complex web of international relationships and security concerns rather giving prominence to official narratives and policy preferences. This led to a situation where the only policy outcomes available to officials are coercive diplomacy and war. This type of news coverage was eerily reminiscent to the coverage before the run-up to the 2003 Iraq war. Therefore, the fact that the media can play a constructive role in finding a lasting resolution to the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program, journalists should modify how they cover the topic currently.
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    Comprehensive Nuclear Material Accounting
    (2014-03) Siegel, Jonas; Steinbruner, John; Gallagher, Nancy
    Existing national and international standards for accounting for nuclear materials, including those designated for military use, are insufficient to meet current and future nuclear security, nonproliferation, and weapons reduction demands. Improved accounting practices are needed to provide reliable assurance that nuclear materials designated for peaceful use have not been diverted to state-level nuclear weapons programs or stolen by non-state actors, as well as to deter or detect diversion or the, were it to occur. Implementing an effective and efficient comprehensive, global nuclear accounting system is also a critical element of creating the conditions for future nuclear security if global nuclear energy use increases as part of the effort to mitigate climate change and countries make deep cuts to, or potentially eliminate, their stockpiles of nuclear weapons and nuclear materials designated for military use. Policy makers from around the globe have recognized the importance of ensuring that all countries with nuclear materials or weapons practice high standards of material control and accounting (MC&A), but the emphasis of current initiatives to improve MC&A has been on national laws and regulations—and primarily in states without nuclear weapons. States have yet to develop comprehensive requirements that address the full scope of nuclear risks and that are meant to be adopted by all states—including nuclear weapons states. This study examines a range of current material accounting practices and requirements and argues that in order for MC&A to fully perform the functions necessary to reduce global nuclear risks to an acceptably low level, its emphasis needs to transition from ensuring the non-diversion of nuclear materials to military uses to providing positive inventory control of nuclear materials, whereby national and international authorities can actively account for the location and form of all designated nuclear materials on a continuous and detailed basis.