On the Verge

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On the Verge – Reimagining Arms Control (001) Jan 22, 2021

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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

Lessons from Japan on Battling COVID-19: A CSR Podcast Episode Oct 07, 2020

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By Christine Parthemore The United States has now tragically reached more than 210,000 people killed by COVID-19. These victims are among more than 7 million infected---including the President, many from the White House staff and Congress, and military leadership. Just as so many people across the country are working hard to bring down the transmission and mortality rates, many of us are working to understand what has led to the current situation in which the United States leads the world in total deaths and known cases. Understanding the situation will take time, but drawing lessons on what has worked in limiting the pandemic and what has worsened its trajectory must begin now---both in case it can save lives from the current COVID-19 pandemic and for preventing future biological threats from growing to pandemic scales. One rich source of such lessons can be countries that have done relatively well in limiting the devastation from this pandemic. Japan is one of them. According to tracking by Johns Hopkins University, as of October 6th Japan had just over 1,600 known deaths and fewer than 87,000 known cases, despite the country’s large population and density of some of its major cities. In recent months, I’ve spoken with friends and experts in Japan to try to learn more. Today, we’re sharing the first of two recorded podcast discussions on Japan’s response to COVID-19. The discussion features Dr. Tomoya Saito, who is the director of the Department of Health Crisis Management at Japan’s National Institute of Public Health and has deep experience in emergency preparedness and response, health surveillance, and biosecurity; and Ambassador Nobuyasu Abe, who served as United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs and as a Commissioner of the Japan Atomic Energy Commission, and who we are honored to have as a Senior Advisor at CSR. They shared several factors involved in Japan’s response that appear to have contributed. Japan focused heavily on early detection. The country also worked early to understand clusters of COVID-19 and how focusing on them could help limit its transmission. We also discussed communications and transparency between the government and the public, including via Japan’s “Avoid the Three C’s” campaign to urge the public to avoid closed spaces, crowded places, and close contact. Straightforward steps like widespread wearing of masks have also been embraced in Japan. Looking ahead, we also discussed the importance of creating pathogen early warning systems, and the danger of narratives that authoritarian regimes have handled COVID-19 best (evidence for which can be seen in democracies such as Japan being one of the world’s leading countries in containing the pandemic). News outlets and other experts have provided additional ideas on what has contributed to far lower case and death rates in Japan. The nation has been using its Fugaku supercomputer (rated as the fastest in the world) for modeling how to minimize COVID-19 transmission in public places. Its high-quality, universal healthcare system is surely also an important factor. As close allies, Japan and the United States have long collaborated to share lessons from crisis response experiences and work together to prepare for emergencies from all types of natural and manmade hazards. CSR will soon share a second conversation with Dr. Saito that explores Japan’s response in deeper detail. We hope these conversations are just the beginning of continuing dialogue between our countries to understand our different experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic in the hope of successfully halting future biological threats as they emerge. Click play below to listen to our first podcast on lessons from Japan’s responses to COVID-19.

CSR Podcast Episode 5 with David Michel and Christine Parthemore Jun 01, 2020

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Welcome to the Council on Strategic Risks (CSR) Podcast Network! Here we speak with leading experts who are working to anticipate, analyze, and address core systemic risks to security in the 21st Century. Our fifth episode focuses on climate, nuclear, and security dynamics in Iran and Saudi Arabia. https://videopress.com/v/3Vs7GyIT?preloadContent=metadata Episode 5: with David Michel and Christine Parthemore (April, 2020) Saudi Arabia and Iran are geopolitical rivals that have been at the forefront of global security discourse for the last several years. In this episode, host Dr. Sweta Chakraborty speaks to David Michel, a Senior Research Fellow with the Center for Climate and Security and a Research Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace, and Christine Parthemore, CEO of the Council on Strategic Risks. Nuclear developments are a significant security concern in the Middle East and North Africa. This podcast explores the trends unfolding within Iran and Saudi Arabia. With the U.S. out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), an important mechanism intended to unite nations appears to be losing its power to taper back nuclear developments and contribute to global stability. Tehran announced that it is now actively enriching uranium, flouting JCPOA guidelines as European signatories attempt to curb these potentially destabilizing activities. Alongside these measures, the government is building more reactors, one of which is in direct partnership with Moscow. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is building a small nuclear research reactor and plans to construct at least two large nuclear energy plants. The United States and China, among others, have proposed partnerships to help launch a Saudi civilian nuclear program. Conversations with the United States have stalled due to disagreements with Riyadh over details of a 123 Agreement for peaceful nuclear cooperation. At the same time, Iran and Saudi Arabia are struggling with water and environmental security challenges. Both countries are characterized by arid landscapes, low precipitation rates, limited renewable water supplies, unsustainable agricultural practices, and high demographic pressures on natural resources. Climate change projections would exacerbate these issues. According to a MIT study, the unique features that characterize the Persian Gulf, such as its low elevations, shallow waters, and clear skies could result in temperatures that exceed 35℃ over extended periods of time by the end of the century. This would be intolerable for long-term human survival. The episode highlights how the region is navigating these issues. For example, Saudi Arabia is considering using nuclear energy to power desalination plants to meet its growing freshwater demands. CSR's Podcast Network will regularly feature exclusive dialogues with leading security and international affairs experts. Stay tuned for cutting-edge discussions on the world's existential and strategic risks, and the ways in which these challenges are converging. Subscribe to the CSR Podcast Network's YouTube channel to never miss an episode! Or listen to the audio version on iTunes, and subscribe now to get real-time updates. If you’re one of those already subscribed on iTunes, we always welcome your ratings and reviews, as this helps us get the podcast out there to more listeners!

CSR Podcast Episode 1: Elizabeth Threlkeld and Neil Bhatiya on Pakistan Jul 24, 2019

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What happens in Pakistan is critical to the security and stability of its people, its region, and the world. The inaugural episode of the Council on Strategic Risks Podcast Network features a discussion on Pakistan by South Asia experts (and participants in CSR's Working Group on Climate, Nuclear, and Security Affairs) Elizabeth Threlkeld of the Stimson Center and Neil Bhatiya of the Center for a New American Security. They discuss nuclear weapons, climate security issues, the effects of natural disasters on the Pakistani population and government, and much more. https://videopress.com/v/dhf9OuhO CSR Podcast Episode 1: South Asia Experts Elizabeth Threlkeld and Neil Bhatiya on nuclear, climate, and security trends in Pakistan (July 23, 2019) Welcome to the Council on Strategic Risks (CSR) Podcast Network! Here we speak with leading experts who are working to anticipate, analyze, and address core systemic risks to security in the 21st Century. This episode focuses on Pakistan. In this inaugural episode, host Dr. Sweta Chakraborty speaks with South Asia experts (and participants in CSR's Working Group on Climate, Nuclear, and Security Affairs) Elizabeth Threlkeld of the Stimson Center and Neil Bhatiya of the Center for a New American Security. They discuss nuclear weapons, climate security issues, the effects of natural disasters on the Pakistani population and government, and much more. On the heels of Pakistani President Imran Khan visiting U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House, Threlkeld and Bhatiya discuss a complex set of dynamics within Pakistan and with its nuclear-armed neighbors. Their unique insights show why what happens in Pakistan is critical to the security and stability of its people, its region, and the world. It is no surprise that in January 2019, CSR’s Working Group on the nexus of climate, nuclear, and security trends named Pakistan as the #1 most important country for examining how these trends are coexisting and at times influence each other. This year, Pakistan has experienced record temperatures due to a stifling heat wave: on June 1st, the city of Jacobabad hit 51.1 degrees Celsius, a solid 7 degrees above average. Many nuclear weapons experts are increasingly concerned about their use in South Asia, potentially stemming from miscalculations with India. Pakistan and many of its neighbors are expanding nuclear energy systems to address climate change and grow energy capacity---a reminder of the importance of nuclear safety and security in the region. These issues accompany economic pressures and many other dynamics our podcast guests highlight. CSR's Podcast Network will regularly feature exclusive dialogues with leading security, military, and international affairs experts. Stay tuned for cutting-edge discussions on the world's existential and strategic risks, and the ways in which these challenges are converging.

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