Program Overview

Nuclear weapons have been an uneasy fact of life since 1945, both for the states that possess them and the states without them.  Today, there is a growing recognition that the risks of nuclear weapons just might outweigh their benefits, even for nuclear weapon holders.  Those risks converge in the possibility of nuclear terrorism.  President Obama referred to the potential for a terrorist to get a nuclear weapon as "the most immediate and extreme threat to global security." (Prague, April 2009).

Three kinds of efforts are required to reduce nuclear risks:

• Deterring and preventing states and non-state actors from acquiring nuclear weapons;
• Engaging in nuclear arms control to reduce the threat that nuclear weapons and nuclear material pose worldwide; and
• Building a peaceful nuclear energy fuel cycle that lowers the risk of misuse of nuclear capabilities.

Policymakers need to bridge gaps, at home and abroad, in perceptions of and capabilities in the right tools to enhance our nuclear security and reduce nuclear risks.  The core mission of the Proliferation Prevention Program at CSIS is to help bridge the divides and offer independent research and analysis that help inform and shape effective policies. 

The research of the program is focused on:

• Developing new tools for slowing proliferation;
• Identifying next steps in arms control; and
• Helping illuminate the path toward a sustainable and safe nuclear future.

Program Staff

Program Director: Sharon Squassoni

Research Associate & Program Coordinator: Talitha Dowds

Research Assistant: Jung-Min Woo