Book Event - Our Own Worst Enemy
| Date | October 24, 2011 |
| Time | 4:00 - 5:30 p.m. |
| Location | The Stimson Center, 1111 19th Street, NW, 12th Floor |
Sharon K. Weiner, Associate Professor at American University's School of International Service, will discuss her book, Our Own Worst Enemy?
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, many
observers feared that terrorists and rogue states would obtain weapons
of mass destruction (WMD) or knowledge about how to build them from the
vast Soviet nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons complex. The
United States launched a major effort to prevent former Soviet WMD
experts, suddenly without salaries, from peddling their secrets. In Our Own Worst Enemy,
Sharon Weiner chronicles the design, implementation, and evolution of
four U.S. programs that were central to this nonproliferation policy and
assesses their successes and failures.
Weiner examines the parlous state of the former Soviet nuclear,
biological, and chemical weapons complex, the contentious domestic
political debate within the United States, and most critically, the
institutional interests and dynamics of the Defense, State, and Energy
departments, which were charged with preventing the spread of WMD
expertise. She explains why--despite unprecedented cooperation between
the former Cold War adversaries--U.S. nonproliferation programs did not
succeed at redirecting or converting to civilian uses significant parts
of the former Soviet weapons complex. She shows how each of the U.S.
government bureaucracies responsible for managing vital nonproliferation
policies let its own organizational interests trump U.S. national
security needs. Our Own Worst Enemy? raises important and
troubling questions for anyone interested in understanding and improving
policymaking and implementation processes in the area of
nonproliferation and in U.S. national security policy more generally.
Please contact Esha Mufti (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)) if you plan to attend.