Digests and Blog

April 2025For decades, U.S. global leadership – at the governmental and nongovernmental level – has been a driving force behind the effort to develop and implement a global system designed to control the dangers posed by nuclear weapons.Much of the U.S. government’s work on arms control has relied on a relatively small but key cadre of experts and practitioners at the State Department, parts of the Pentagon, the Department of Energy, parts of the intelligence community, and other key agencies. For example, President John F. Kennedy established the semi-independent Arms Control and Disarmament…

Nuclear Disarmament MonitorMarch 20, 2025U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a two-hour call on March 18 on the war in Ukraine, reaching a limited agreement to stop attacks on electrical infrastructure. The Kremlin mentioned in its readout of the call that the two sides had discussed cooperation on nuclear nonproliferation, while the U.S. statement said the presidents addressed “the need to stop proliferation of strategic weapons.”What is not yet clear is whether the two presidents have begun to discuss ideas regarding how to manage the U.S.-Russian nuclear…

March 2025Ten years ago, the United States, along with China, France, Germany, Russia, and the UK, negotiated one of the most far-reaching, complex and consequential nonproliferation agreements: the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The 2015 Iran Deal put in place limits on Iran’s nuclear program and intrusive international monitoring that ensured it would take more than a year to amass enough bomb grade material for just one bomb.ACA’s director for nonproliferation policy, Kelsey Davenport, monitored the talks, we contributed ideas, and we provided detailed information and analysis…

It has been barely a month since Inauguration day, but it is apparent that Donald Trump is determined to reshape U.S. foreign policy, radically alter alliance relationships, and upend Washington’s approach toward key adversaries, like Russia, in ways that are not yet clear.And here at home, Trump's brash assertion of executive power is putting our nation’s democratic institutions and the rule of domestic law at risk, in part by altering or dismantling key government departments,agencies and functions, all without congressional approval.All of this makes our mission to provide reliable…

Trump Ramps Up Pressure on IranU.S. President Donald Trump announced steps to increase pressure on Iran over its advancing nuclear program but said he was not happy about the decision and reiterated his support for negotiating a nuclear deal. Trump’s national security presidential memorandum, issued on Feb. 4, says that the United States will restore “maximum pressure on the government” of Iran and deny “all paths to a nuclear weapon,” according to a White House factsheet. The memorandum also emphasizes that Iran should be “denied” intercontinental ballistic missiles and that its conventional…

 By Vann H. Van DiepenOn January 3, the Biden Administration issued a National Security Memorandum that “updated” U.S. policy on missile-related export controls, including U.S. implementation of multilateral commitments under the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). The MTCR is an informal export control arrangement among states that seek to limit the proliferation of missiles and missile technology that was formed in 1987 and now has 35 partner countries.The Biden administration's 11th hour update loosened four key aspects of U.S. policy in place since September 1993 in several ways.…

December 2024As the Biden administration’s four years in office draw to a close and the Trump 2.0 administration approaches, the world faces a complex, unprecedented array of nuclear risks. At the invitation of the Arms Control Association and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, White House principal deputy national security advisor Jonathan Finer spoke on Dec. 19 on the Biden administration’s efforts to reduce nuclear dangers and adapt U.S. nuclear weapons and nonproliferation policy to an uncertain world.Finer outlined President Joe Biden’s efforts to deal with the challenges…

Inside the Arms Control Association                           November 2024Defending the “Guardrails” Against CatastropheThe risk of nuclear conflict is higher than at any point since the end of the Cold War, and it appears to be growing. Major states are engaged in a qualitative arms race. At the same time the rules, norms, and treaties protecting us from the world’s most dangerous weapons, and against unconstrained nuclear buildups and the spread of nuclear weapons to additional states, are under increasing stress.Just last week, after the White House authorized the use of U.S.-supplied…

Nuclear Disarmament MonitorNovember 14, 2024The Nov. 5 re-election of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency will create new challenges and some limited opportunities for nuclear disarmament. In his first term, the president-elect endorsed the development and deployment of new nuclear weapons and elevated the role of nuclear deterrence in U.S. military strategy. Trump pursued an ill-fated attempt to bring China into the U.S.-Russian arms control framework, creating uncertainty about a five-year extension of New START that was ultimately endorsed by the Biden administration. But, the former…

Inside the Arms Control Association                October 2024Navigating the Road AheadEarly voting has already begun and millions of American voters will register their choices at the ballot box by November 5.The outcome of the 2024 election will have far-reaching impacts on a wide range of issues that concern all of us, including the growing dangers posed by nuclear weapons.Whatever the outcome of the presidential and congressional races may be, the Arms Control Association team is poised to take action to help:Reinforce the norms against nuclear weapon use, nuclear threats, nuclear…