Introducing the Livermore Papers No. 1: Redefining the U.S. Agenda for Nuclear Disarmament - Analysis and Reflections
Dr. Lewis A. Dunn

October 31, 2016

Introducing the Livermore Papers No. 1: Redefining the U.S. Agenda for Nuclear Disarmament - Analysis and Reflections by Dr. Lewis A. Dunn

"Presented here is the inaugural paper in a new monograph series we have created under the auspices of the Center for Global Security Research (CGSR). The series will explore complex emerging challenges in the new security environment as they bear on issues of deterrence, assurance, and strategic stability. Our goal is to explore these issues deeply enough to provide significant new understanding that is technically informed and policy relevant. Our premise is that thoughtful students of international security affairs continue to value such in-depth analysis as a way to help make sense of the large flow of data and opinion that reaches all of us on a daily basis. Our ambition is to generate four to six such papers per year on especially salient policy topics. The views expressed in these papers are those of the author and should not be attributed to CGSR, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, or the U.S. Government.

This inaugural paper addresses one of the key questions facing national leadership eight years after President Obama’s April 2009 remarks in Prague and his commitment to take practical steps towards the long-term goal of the elimination of nuclear weapons. In the interim, some important steps have been taken. But there have also been many disappointments. The new presidential administration will face a security landscape quite different from that of eight years ago and must reassess U.S. priorities and approaches. As Lewis Dunn argues, some will be tempted to walk away entirely from the disarmament agenda, while others will advocate even more forcefully for unilateral U.S. steps to further reduce the role and number of nuclear weapons in its posture. Dr. Dunn sets out his own vision of how to adapt and carry forward the disarmament agenda, in a manner informed by developments in the security environment that point to a continuing role for nuclear deterrence. The result is both fresh and compelling." Director of CGSR, Bradley Roberts