An act of nuclear terrorism anywhere in the world would be a global humanitarian, economic, and political catastrophe. While nobody knows which terrorist group will be the next to pursue a nuclear weapon or attempt to sabotage a nuclear power plant, we do know that terrorists or criminals would need to target one of the hundreds of nuclear facilities around the world. This is why the most effective strategy for preventing nuclear terrorism is to ensure strong and sustainable security for all weapons-usable nuclear materials and major nuclear facilities. Nuclear operators must foster organizational cultures that produce well-trained staff—from senior executive leadership to guard forces—dedicated to strong and sustainable nuclear security, and motivated to vigilantly watch for potential threats and vulnerabilities. Despite all of the attention to nuclear security in recent years, little is understood about how to actually accomplish these goals.
The “Front Lines of Nuclear Security” seeks to learn from experience, understand organizational dynamics and challenges, draw lessons for enhanced implementation of nuclear security, and work with governments and operators to get those lessons implemented.
Case studies of crises that impact nuclear security provide important opportunities to learn and build resilience into nuclear facilities and organizations
July 9, 2021
Civil society plays a critical role in strengthening nuclear security, offering creative, innovative, and interdisciplinary approaches in solving difficult nuclear security issues
June 29, 2021
Looking back on the Cooperative Threat Reduction program assistance in improving Russian personnel reliability programs provides valuable insights for today’s experts
June 7, 2021
Four Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program officers make a final visit to a Russian nuclear warhead storage site
April 1, 2021
Under the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program, nuclear security served as a common objective for the United States and Russia
February 4, 2021
2020 presented numerous challenges to nuclear security, including the shift to primarily remote operations and sustaining international cooperation
January 21, 2021
The far-right extremist nuclear terrorism threat is amplified today by an ideology focused on accelerating the collapse of society
January 19, 2021
The Biden administration must act decisively to reduce the danger of nuclear terrorism through U.S. leadership in the international community
January 14, 2021
Copyright The Henry L. Stimson Center