Nuclear Use Authority

There is no more consequential decision for a president than ordering a nuclear strike. Once launched, a nuclear-armed missile cannot be recalled or aborted. Today, the strategic environment and threats that could lead to the use of a nuclear weapon have changed from the Cold War, yet much of U.S. policy with respect to nuclear use authority remains grounded in that past era, increasing the risk of an accident or a mistake.


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Safer World 2020
Past Project

Safer World 2020

Engaging U.S. voters about the urgency to reduce nuclear and other WMD threats

More News and Analysis on Nuclear Weapons Programs, Policy, and Deterrence

NTI Resources on the War in Ukraine

News

NTI Resources on the War in Ukraine

As the war in Ukraine continues, destroying cities and causing the worst humanitarian crisis in Europe in a generation, NTI’s policy experts are fanning out across the news media to discuss the implications of Putin’s actions


Statement by the EASLG: Advancing Global Nuclear “Fail-Safe”

Statement by the EASLG: Advancing Global Nuclear “Fail-Safe”

EASLG leaders Des Browne, Wolfgang Ischinger, Igor Ivanov, Ernest J. Moniz, and Sam Nunn, along with 34 dignitaries from 12 countries, call for all nuclear-weapons states to conduct internal reviews of their nuclear command-and-control and weapons systems.


Eric Brewer on “South Korea’s Nuclear Flirtations”

Opinion

Eric Brewer on “South Korea’s Nuclear Flirtations”

Eric Brewer, deputy vice president for NTI’s Nuclear Materials Security Program, co-authored a piece for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace titled “South Korea’s Nuclear Flirtations Highlight the Growing Risks of Allied Proliferation.”


The Failsafe Review

Fact Sheet

The Failsafe Review

Modern technologies like cyber are introducing new risks to nuclear systems and underscore the need and urgency of conducting a new failsafe review.


Eric Brewer on the War in Ukraine and Nonproliferation
nuclear symbol with no symbol circle with line through it

Opinion

Eric Brewer on the War in Ukraine and Nonproliferation

Deputy Vice President for NTI’s Nuclear Materials Security Program Eric Brewer writes that “although Russia’s war [in Ukraine] has created nuclear risks, the risk that it will unleash a wave of nuclear proliferation is lower than many believe.”


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