
Advancing Nuclear “Fail-Safe”
Strengthening “fail-safe” procedures to avoid a nuclear blunder
With increasing tensions among major nuclear powers, regional proliferation, and instability in various parts of the world, the risk that a nuclear weapon will be used – by accident, miscalculation or intention – is dangerously high and on the rise.
The Global Nuclear Policy Program (GNPP) focuses on reducing and ultimately eliminating that risk. The program works with governments, partner organizations, and leaders around the world to develop policies, leadership, and the global capacity—human and institutional—to reduce reliance on nuclear weapons, prevent their spread, and ultimately end them as a threat to the world. This includes:
Strengthening “fail-safe” procedures to avoid a nuclear blunder
Testing ideas and developing proposals for improving security in areas of existential common interest
Creating a new framework for a secure nuclear future without nuclear weapons
Devising new strategies and approaches to move towards a world without nuclear weapons
Building political will for a safer world
Updating the global nuclear risk-reduction and nonproliferation architecture for today’s threat environment
There is a dangerous prospect of a rapid and unpredictable escalation of conflict between the two nuclear-armed countries.
Rising geopolitical tensions, ongoing regional conflicts, and rapid technological change are fundamentally disrupting the global nuclear order. In response to this perilous moment, NTI has released a new paper, "Navigating Disruption in the Global Nuclear Order: Managing Risks and Shaping a New Way Forward."
The global nuclear order has been fundamentally and irreversibly altered by intense geopolitical competition, an increasingly complex strategic environment, and rapid technological advancements, resulting in a dangerously high risk of nuclear weapons use.
Reducing and eliminating any nuclear risk that could lead to catastrophe is a common interest for all and an enduring responsibility for all nuclear-armed states.
NTI will join world leaders and policy makers at the 2025 Munich Security Conference (MSC) where NTI Co-Chair and CEO Ernest J. Moniz and colleagues will host multiple side events focused on reducing nuclear, biological, and emerging technology threats imperiling humanity.