On the Verge – Reimagining Arms Control (001)

In the inaugural episode of CSR’s On the Verge podcast, Natasha Bajema interviews Andy Weber and John Gower about the future of arms control as part of their work for the Janne E. Nolan Center on Strategic Weapons.

The Honorable Andy Weber is a Senior Fellow at CSR. He spent five-and-a-half years as the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs. He was a driving force behind Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction efforts to remove weapons-grade uranium from Kazakhstan and Georgia and nuclear-capable MiG-29 aircraft from Moldova, to reduce biological weapons threats, and to destroy Libyan and Syrian chemical weapons stockpiles. In addition, he coordinated U.S. leadership of the international Ebola response for the Department of State.

Rear Admiral (ret.) John Gower is a Senior Advisor at CSR. He served, until his retirement in December 2014, as Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Nuclear & Chemical, Biological) in the UK Ministry of Defense. Previously, he spent nearly half his 36-yr military career at sea in ships and submarines culminating in the sequential command of two globally deployed submarines.

The Nolan Center also launched a program in 2018 on reimagining arms control. As the international landscape continues to evolve, successful arms control in the 21st Century will require new approaches grounded in the mutual security interests of countries involved. Working in collaboration with governments and other think tanks from around the world, the Nolan Center is developing new arms control concepts that countries may pursue together. This work gives special attention to classes of nuclear weapons that carry the highest risks of ambiguity, escalation, and altering strategic calculations; and developing arms control ideas that could include to Indo-Pacific participants.

Read More About Reimagining Arms Control:

Improving Nuclear Strategic Stability Through a Responsibility-Based Approach

If Biden Reviews Nuclear Weapons Plans, Focus on New & Low-Yield Weapons

Nuclear Weapon Sole Purpose: The Strongest Future for U.S. National Security and Global Stability

A Nuclear Policy Tapestry: From a Code of Responsibility to Greater StabilityRe