Reducing the Threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction

Science in the service of society has produced sweeping advances in medicine, communications, transportation, and manufacturing that  continue to transform the world.  These developments include technologies inherently dual-use in nature: technical processes, methods, and knowledge with clinical or commercial potential that also comprise military applications. These issues have drawn the Henry L. Stimson Center to understand and develop wise policies about science and technology developments as they relate to a wide range of topics, from weapons of mass destruction to global public health and human security.

Many nation states seeking strategic superiority throughout the 20th century developed and stockpiled nuclear, chemical, and biological materials, as well as advanced means to deliver them. Shifting political landscapes that changed the dynamics of Cold War-era arms races have also left relics of weapons programs -- both unsecured materials and underemployed experts -- vulnerable to terrorists unconstrained by treaties and norms. As governments and civil society continue to debate both the utility and risk of specific weapons technologies, various regimes to control or eliminate weapons materials have met with mixed success.

Nuclear and missile programs continue to threaten regional - and global - stability. In East Asia, for instance, the regional implications of a range of such North Korean programs are profound, unsettling policymakers from Beijing and Seoul to Washington, Tokyo, and Taipei. In South Asia, these programs have compounded the dangers associated with an outbreak of hostilities between rival neighbors India and Pakistan over the disputed Kashmir region.

Rapidly emerging technologies call for approaches that transcend "traditional" arms control policies. The Center’s Chemical and Biological Weapons (CBW) Nonproliferation and Response Program addresses the challenges of securing materials, tools, and skills that could be applied to producing deadly weapons, or to legitimate biomedical and industrial needs. Although control and elimination of CBW remains the ultimate goal, pragmatism also demands programs to detect and respond effectively to their use.

Flight testing and deployment of space weapons will have negative consequences for the size of nuclear arsenals, and will poison ties between major powers, which must cooperate if efforts to combat proliferation and terrorism are to succeed. The United States needs to take the lead in promoting "Space Assurance" rather than space weapons. Whether focusing on diplomatic or technical solutions, the Center’s programs combine analysis, international collaborations, and outreach to provide decision-makers with the information that they need to confront the world’s increasingly complex WMD threats.