Verifying Zero: Long-Term Aims, Short-Term Steps

{
  "authors": [
    "James M. Acton"
  ],
  "type": "other",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "NPP",
  "programs": [
    "Nuclear Policy"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [],
  "topics": [
    "Nuclear Policy"
  ]
}

Other

Verifying Zero: Long-Term Aims, Short-Term Steps

Nuclear-armed states and non-nuclear-weapon states alike can and should work together in the short term to overcome the technical challenges of verifying disarmament and help advance the longer-term goal of abolishing nuclear weapons.

By James M. Acton

Published on Jan 1, 2010

Source: UNODA Occasional Paper No. 18

Verifying nuclear disarmament poses an unprecedented technical challenge. There can never be certainty that nuclear-armed States have not retained militarily significant stockpiles of fissile material. In the short term, to help prevent these uncertainties from becoming a roadblock in the future, these steps could, inter alia, (a) collect and archive information about fissile material production; (b) place information about fissile material production and holdings in the public domain; (c) be more transparent about civilian nuclear materials; and (d) implement the proposed Fissile Material Control Initiative. On their part, non-nuclear-weapon states could be prepared to recognize these as meaningful steps towards disarmament.

Nuclear Policy

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.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Paper
Escalation Dynamics Under the Nuclear Shadow—India’s Approach
An exploration into how India and Pakistan have perceived each other’s manipulations, or lack thereof, of their nuclear arsenals.
Rakesh Sood
Commentary
Carnegie Politika
For Putin, Increasing Russia’s Nuclear Threat Matters More Than the Triad’s Modernization
For Putin, upgrading Russia’s nuclear forces was a secondary goal. The main aim was to gain an advantage over the West, including by strengthening the nuclear threat on all fronts. That made growth in missile arsenals and a new arms race inevitable.
Maxim Starchak
Paper
A Quarter Century of Nuclear South Asia: Nuclear Noise, Signalling, and the Risk of Escalation in India-Pakistan Crises
A close study of five crises makes clear that Cold War logic doesn’t apply to the South Asia nuclear powers.
Moeed Yusuf, Rizwan Zeb
Research
A New Era of Nuclear-Powered Submarines Is Making Waves in Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones
As states without nuclear weapons develop nuclear-powered submarines, can NWFZ regimes adapt to manage new technical, legal, procedural, and normative challenges?
Jamie Kwong, ed., Toby Dalton, ed., Celia McDowall, ed.
Research
Navigating Responsible Stewardship of Nuclear-Powered Submarines
As the first states without nuclear weapons set to acquire nuclear-powered attack submarines, Australia and Brazil face new questions and challenges as they seek to responsibly manage the risks of naval nuclear propulsion.
Jamie Kwong, ed., Toby Dalton, ed.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Paper

Escalation Dynamics Under the Nuclear Shadow—India’s Approach

An exploration into how India and Pakistan have perceived each other’s manipulations, or lack thereof, of their nuclear arsenals.

Rakesh Sood

Commentary

Carnegie Politika

For Putin, Increasing Russia’s Nuclear Threat Matters More Than the Triad’s Modernization

For Putin, upgrading Russia’s nuclear forces was a secondary goal. The main aim was to gain an advantage over the West, including by strengthening the nuclear threat on all fronts. That made growth in missile arsenals and a new arms race inevitable.

Maxim Starchak

Paper

A Quarter Century of Nuclear South Asia: Nuclear Noise, Signalling, and the Risk of Escalation in India-Pakistan Crises

A close study of five crises makes clear that Cold War logic doesn’t apply to the South Asia nuclear powers.

Moeed Yusuf, Rizwan Zeb

Research

A New Era of Nuclear-Powered Submarines Is Making Waves in Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones

As states without nuclear weapons develop nuclear-powered submarines, can NWFZ regimes adapt to manage new technical, legal, procedural, and normative challenges?

Jamie Kwong, ed., Toby Dalton, ed., Celia McDowall, ed.

Research

Navigating Responsible Stewardship of Nuclear-Powered Submarines

As the first states without nuclear weapons set to acquire nuclear-powered attack submarines, Australia and Brazil face new questions and challenges as they seek to responsibly manage the risks of naval nuclear propulsion.

Jamie Kwong, ed., Toby Dalton, ed.