event

Seize the Superstructure

Wed. October 29th, 2008
Washington, D.C.

Carnegie scholars George Perkovich and Rose Gottemoeller discussed the superstructure of the nuclear order and called for U.S. leadership in disarmament and reinvigorated U.S.-Russian arms control cooperation.

George Perkovich began the discussion emphasizing that a U.S. commitment to abolishing nuclear weapons is essential to strengthening the nonproliferation regime and shoring up U.S. security interests globally. Abolishment should not be framed as a unilateral or moral decision, but rather a strategic choice that best serves U.S. interests. Abolition requires strengthening verification and enforcement; enhancing nonproliferation rules, inspections, and control of fissile materials; bolstering accounting mechanisms, and reducing risks of nuclear weapon use. Nuclear weapons cannot be disinvented, but similar to gas chambers, nuclear weapons can be eradicated and universally denounced with enforcement.

Rose Gottemoeller underlined the need for U.S.-Russian engagement to secure and further the nonproliferation regime and enhance global security. First, the U.S. should extend the START treaty for five years, but under a political agreement to finalize a new treaty within one year, including its ratification. Second, the next administration should utilize the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty to engage Russia in developing a new system of European security. Finally, the U.S. should convene a commission of past U.S. and Russian presidents to raise confidence between Russia and the West and address the serious problems of European security-building.

Participants posed whether Perkovich's abolition objective would be best pursued by an agency within the government. Before creating a separate agency, Perkovich proposed tasking the National Security Council to require each department to develop papers on what would be required to pursue such an objective. He further emphasized that the U.S. should not unilaterally disarm, but rather seek to address the security situations currently blocking abolition. Resolving these issues would both improve American security and allow for further international disarmament.

Regarding Gottemoeller's discussion, participants questioned whether the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) should also be a priority item for the next administration to reenergize. Gottemoeller agreed, but argued that the CTR must develop from mainly an assistance program into a true cooperative initiative requiring Russia to take responsibility alongside the United States.

Foreign PolicyNuclear PolicyNuclear EnergyCaucasusRussia
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
event speakers

George Perkovich

Japan Chair for a World Without Nuclear Weapons, Vice President for Studies

George Perkovich is the Japan chair for a world without nuclear weapons and vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, overseeing the Nuclear Policy Program and the Technology and International Affairs Program. He works primarily on nuclear strategy and nonproliferation issues, and security dilemmas among the United States, its allies, and their nuclear-armed adversaries. 

Rose Gottemoeller

Nonresident Senior Fellow, Nuclear Policy Program

Rose Gottemoeller is a nonresident senior fellow in Carnegie’s Nuclear Policy Program. She also serves as lecturer at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution.