Should the US redeploy TNW's to South Korea for extended deterrence? In On The Horizon Vol 8, 2025, CSIS Project on Nuclear Issues (PONI) Nuclear Scholar Jaclyn Schmitt explores both sides of the argument. Read the full analysis here:

✨Nuclear Scholars Initiative Spotlight ✨ Paige MacKinnon is a MA candidate at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California, and graduate research assistant at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies where she works on the open-source intelligence team.

In On The Horizon Vol 8, 2025,PONI Nuclear Scholar Artur Honich explores why the core logic of damage limitation could be relevant to the European theater and what key changes would be required to adapt the concept to the strategic needs of European NATO allies.

Can America maintain credible nuclear deterrence against two nuclear peers at once? A new analysis by Alexander Richter examines whether re-MIRVing U.S. ICBMs could provide a near-term answer to growing Russian and Chinese nuclear capabilities. Analysis here:

Delve into Baltic countries’ views on the United Kingdom’s commitment to their defense within NATO against the Russia threat in On The Horizon Vol 8, 2025, with PONI Nuclear Scholar Mar Casas Cachinero Read the full analysis here:

New Analysis by Alexander Richter, The Case for Re-MIRVing America’s ICBMs Read His full analysis here:

✨Nuclear Scholars Initiative Spotlight ✨ Laura Luca is a PhD candidate in Political Science at UCLA, a Hans J. Morgenthau Predoctoral Fellow at the O'Brien Notre Dame International Security Center, and an incoming postdoc at Harvard's Managing the Atom project.

✨Nuclear Scholars Initiative Spotlight ✨ @shafaqkhan is an analyst supporting the Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Nuclear Deterrence and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Policy and an incoming U.S. Foreign Service Officer.

How are Tabletop Exercises are filling the gap in nuclear sufficiency? In On The Horizon Vol 8, 2025, PONI Nuclear Scholar Sarah Stevenson examines how U.S. planners might respond to limited Chinese nuclear use in a Taiwan contingency through a tabletop exercise.

Scoville Fellow '25 Elena Tiedens @poni.csis.org attended the 2026 NPT Review Conference, where she got to hear from international delegates about the state of the global nuclear order.

This year's NPT Review Conference risks producing a hollow consensus on disarmament, in part because China has learned to leverage the treaty's multilateral dynamics to avoid nuclear accountability, writes Diya Ashtakala of @poni.csis.org.

How Russia Signals Nuclear Resolve with Civilian Nuclear Energy Infrastructure. New analysis by CSIS Project on Nuclear Issues (PONI) Scoville Fellow Elena Tiedens for The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Read the full analysis here: thebulletin.org/2026/05/how-...

✨Nuclear Scholars Initiative Spotlight ✨ Caitlin Listek is a Treaty Analyst with the U.S. Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs, where she supports arms control notifications under the New START treaty. She previously served as a contractor for both the Navy and the U.S. Department of State.

We are now accepting applications for the Mid-Career Cadre Class of 2027. The Mid-Career Cadre is a select group of nuclear professionals that have been in the field for 7 or more years and demonstrate promise for moving into leadership positions. Learn More Here!

In On The Horizon Vol 8, 2025, @CSIS Project on Nuclear Issues (PONI) Nuclear Scholar Clara Sherwood explores what a crisis with a Nuclear capable Iran would look like and Saudi Arabia’s Courses of Action and U.S. Response Strategies. Read the full analysis here:

How China uses the Non-Aligned Movement to avoid nuclear accountability. New analysis by PONI Research Associate Diya Ashtakala for the Bulletin of The Atomic Scientists. Read the full analysis here: thebulletin.org/2026/05/how-...

100 B-21s won’t be enough, argued Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) during a recent HTK episode. In the conversation with Heather Williams, Tom Karako, and Kari Bingen, she reiterated that more strategic platforms are needed in the current threat environment. Watch here: www.csis.org/events/strat...

We are now accepting applications for the Mid-Career Cadre Class of 2027. The Mid-Career Cadre is a select group of nuclear professionals that have been in the field for 7 or more years and demonstrate promise for moving into leadership positions. Learn More Here!

✨Nuclear Scholars Initiative Spotlight ✨ Shreya Lad is research assistant to Scott D. Sagan at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC). Here, she supports research on nuclear security and deterrence, international law, and non-proliferation.

In On The Horizon Vol 8, 2025, CSIS Project on Nuclear Issues (PONI) Nuclear Scholar Yashar Parsie outlines Illusory Assurance and how the United States maintains assurance as an explicit objective for its nuclear forces. Read the full analysis here: www.csis.org/analysis/hor...

We are now accepting applications for the Mid-Career Cadre Class of 2027. The Mid-Career Cadre is a select group of nuclear professionals that have been in the field for 7 or more years. Learn More Here: nuclearnetwork.csis.org/programs/mid...

✨Nuclear Scholars Initiative Spotlight ✨ Candace Huntington is a graduate student in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University. Learn more about the 2026 Nuclear Scholars Initiative: nuclearnetwork.csis.org/programs/nuc...

In On the Horizon Vol 8, 2025 CSIS Project on Nuclear Issues (PONI) Nuclear Scholar Colin Levaunt outlines the Effects of Nonnuclear Strategic Weapons on First-Strike Stability Read the full article here:

Yesterday, the CSIS Defense and Security Department hosted Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) for a conversation with Heather Williams , Tom Karako , and Kari Bingen as part of the HTK series to discuss the most consequential issues defining the future of U.S. strategic forces www.csis.org/events/strat...

✨Nuclear Scholars Initiative Spotlight ✨ Sam Clayton is a Program Manager in the Office of Defense Programs at the Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).  Learn more about the 2026 Nuclear Scholars Initiative: nuclearnetwork.csis.org/programs/nuc...

In On the Horizon Vol 8, 2025 PONI chapter More Kill Vehicles, More Problems, Nuclear Scholar Sam Lair explores the question of how will the use of multiple kill vehicles impact crisis stability between the United States and its nuclear-armed adversaries?

In On the Horizon Vol 8, Nuclear Scholar Frank Kuhn argues that due to the deteriorating international security environment, the likelihood that the United States will find itself involved in a military conflict with another nuclear power has increased substantially.

✨Nuclear Scholars Initiative Spotlight ✨ Emily Cheesman is a Young Global Professional at the Atlantic Council’s Forward Defense team. Learn more about the 2026 Nuclear Scholars Initiative: nuclearnetwork.csis.org/programs/nuc...

Join the CSIS Defense and Security Department HTK Series on April 20, 2026 for a conversation featuring Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE), to discuss the most consequential issues defining the future of U.S. strategic forces. Register and watch live here:

As the U.S. and Iran agree to a two-week ceasefire agreement the options for ending this war are timelier than ever. PONI experts Heather Williams and Joseph Rodgers explore the difficult choices facing the U.S. in addressing Iran’s nuclear program. Full analysis here

✨Nuclear Scholars Initiative Spotlight ✨ Daniel Cebul is a PhD candidate in Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), specializing in security studies and international relations. Learn more 2026 Nuclear Scholars Initiative: nuclearnetwork.csis.org/programs/nuc...

In On the Horizon Vol 8, 2025 @CSIS Project on Nuclear Issues (PONI) Nuclear Scholar Shawn Rostker talks about Reconstructing North Korea’s Nuclear Command and Control and Its Implications for Deterrence and Crisis Stability in his chapter Dangerous by Design.

The last nuclear arms treaty between the U.S. and Russia expired in February. And both Russia and China are testing weapons systems designed to evade US nuclear defense. PONI expert Joseph Rodgers joins CNN to weigh in on how a new nuclear arms race is developing. www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjE7...

Project on Nuclear Issues (PONI) experts Heather Williams and Joseph Rodgers explore the difficult choices facing the U.S. in addressing Iran’s nuclear program, from diplomacy to military action, and weigh the tradeoffs each path carries. Read the full analysis here: www.csis.org/analysis/opt...

In On the Horizon Vol 8, 2025, CSIS Project on Nuclear Issues (PONI) Nuclear Scholar Ayazhan Muratbek examines Kazakhstan’s Strategic Use of Nuclear Diplomacy to Advance Its National Interests. Read the full article here www.csis.org/analysis/hor...

✨Nuclear Scholars Initiative Spotlight ✨ Dominic Brennan is a postdoctoral fellow in Technology and International Security with the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, based in Washington, D.C. Learn more 2026 Nuclear Scholars Initiative: nuclearnetwork.csis.org/programs/nuc...

🥳 We're excited to announce the 2026 PONI Congressional Fellowship! 🥳 Meet the cohort:

✨Nuclear Scholars Initiative Spotlight ✨ Lotje Boswinkel is a PhD researcher at the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy (CSDS) at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, where she studies deterrence and alliance strategy in Europe and the Indo-Pacific. nuclearnetwork.csis.org/programs/nuc...

✨Nuclear Scholars Initiative Spotlight ✨ Anna Bartoux is a Belfer Young Leader Student Fellow and M.S. Public Policy candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where she conducts research on crisis management in U.S. foreign policy. nuclearnetwork.csis.org/programs/nuc...

In On the Horizon Vol 8, 2025 PONI Nuclear Scholar Olivia Salembier examines the risks and escalation dynamics associated with potential nuclear-armed anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons deployed in space. Read the full article here

Today, CSIS announces retired Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, the 19th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has been named our next CEO, succeeding John Hamre, who announced last year that he will retire after 26 years of transformational leadership. Read more: bit.ly/4b383Ha

✨Nuclear Scholars Initiative Spotlight ✨ Michael Baham is an experienced project manager, foreign policy analyst, and lead data analyst, focusing on nuclear, battery technology, and oil and gas projects. Currently, he works for TechSource, Inc. nuclearnetwork.csis.org/programs/nuc...

Kazakhstan’s reactor decision highlights a key strategic reality: infrastructure partnerships shape geopolitical alignment for decades. In a new NGNN blog, Alexei (Frank) Hoffman explores what the U.S. absence from the deal means.

In On the Horizon Vol 8, 2025 PONI Nuclear Scholar Eliana Johns talks about how China’s ongoing and rapid modernization of its nuclear forces raises questions about the drivers behind the buildup. Read the full article here

CSIS's Joseph Rodgers and Bailey Schiff break down Operation Epic Fury and the preliminary US-Israeli strikes launched on February 28th; answering key questions from the objectives of Operation Epic Fury to the long-term outlook. Read the full analysis here: www.csis.org/analysis/ope...

In On Theories of Change, Heather Williams examines the divide between step-by-step arms control and the delegitimization strategy behind the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Read her full analysis here:

Marcus X. Alan is a certified acquisitions professional and U.S. Army Reserve officer. He currently serves as the Fire Control Lead for the U.S. Navy’s SLCM-N program at Strategic Systems Programs (SSP), where he supports the U.S. deterrence mission. nuclearnetwork.csis.org/programs/nuc...

CSIS Project on Nuclear Issues, Nuclear expert Joseph Rodgers discusses the targets that were hit during the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran. Watch the full video:

In On the Horizon Vol. 8, 2025, Nuclear Scholar Shaquille James argues China’s nuclear “breakout” has expanded the sophistication, survivability, and size of its arsenal—but much of it builds on decades-old programs, not a sudden strategic shift. Read the article here

#NEW NGNN blog post from Alexei (Frank) Hoffman "Kazakhstan chose Russia and China for its reactors — Washington wasn't even in the room. Read his full analysis here: