February 2009

"Exporting the Bomb: Why States Provide Sensitive Nuclear Assistance"

American Political Science Review, issue 1, volume 103

By Matthew Kroenig, Affiliate, Project on Managing the Atom

Why do states provide sensitive nuclear assistance to nonnuclear weapon states, contributing to the international spread of nuclear weapons? Using a new dataset on sensitive nuclear transfers, this paper analyzes the determinants of sensitive nuclear assistance. Dr. Kroenig first describes a simple logic of the differential effects of nuclear proliferation, which is used to generate hypotheses about the conditions under which states provide sensitive nuclear assistance. He then shows that the strategic characteristics of the potential nuclear suppliers are the most important determinants of sensitive nuclear assistance. Explanations that emphasize the importance of economic motivations do not find support in the data. This paper presents a new approach to the study of the spread of nuclear weapons, focusing on the supply side of nuclear proliferation.

November 18, 2008

Preventing Nuclear Terrorism: An Agenda for the Next President

By Matthew Bunn, Associate Professor of Public Policy; Co-Principal Investigator, Project on Managing the Atom and Andrew Newman, Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom

Matthew Bunn and Andrew Newman outline specific steps that President-elect Obama should take to reduce the threat of nuclear terrorism to a fraction of its current level during his first term in office. This paper summarizes the recommendations in Securing the Bomb 2008 and provides additional detail on organizing the U.S. government to prevent nuclear terrorism and on steps that should be taken during the transition and the opening weeks of the new administration.

AP Photo

October 2008

"In-Use Vehicle Emissions in China — Tianjin Study"

By Hongyan He Oliver, Research Fellow, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group

From March 2005–December 2006, a research team headed by ETIP carried out a project in Tianjin, China, to study emissions from on-road vehicles.

AP Photo

November 20, 2008

"Throwing Out the Bathwater, but Keeping the Baby"

The Huffington Post

By Emma Belcher, Research Fellow, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom

"Resisting the temptation to renounce all things Bush, President-elect Barack Obama has astutely thrown himself behind the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), a Bush administration effort to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). However, he should be wary in what manner he proposes to institutionalize it, lest it lose the very attributes that make it successful...."

October 14, 2008

"Economic Realities Must Guide Africa's Constitutional Reform Efforts"

By Beth Maclin, Communications Assistant

"African countries need new constitutional orders to cope with modern economic challenges, Calestous Juma said at a recent lecture....A major challenge is based in the constitutions and laws left behind for the newly liberated countries. 'What was being negotiated as independence was really an exercise in constitutional continuity from the colonial period through independence,' Juma said....While there is enormous pressure on African countries to focus on economic programs, they are unable to because the governmental framework left behind did not integrate the economic role of the colonizer into the new role of president."

AP Photo

September 25, 2008

"Only a New Constitution Can Guarantee a Better Kenya"

The Daily Nation, (Kenya)

By Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project

"The constitutional orders put in place in much of Africa, following independence, were largely a continuation of the colonial economic order. The associated governance structures are being swept aside by globalisation, demographic change, and demands for democratic liberties."

AP

March 8, 2008

"Recent Progress and Remaining Challenges for Advanced Coal Technology in China"

volume 6

By Kelly Sims Gallagher, Director, Energy Technology Innovation Policy and Lifeng Zhao, Former Research Fellow, Energy Technology Innovation Policy Research Group/Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program, 2006-2008

In order to promote the research, development, demonstration and deployment of advanced coal technologies, the Chinese central government and local governments have formulated a series of industrial, fiscal, environmental policies and plans. These are outlined in this book chapter.