CMC Distinguished Speakers Series

Arms Control for the Third Nuclear Age:
Between Disarmament and Armageddon

January 11, 2024 | David A. Cooper discussed arms control for the Third Nuclear Age—a new, entirely unprecedented age of multipolar competition among nuclear great powers. Cooper argues for reestablishing strategic and extended deterrence as touchstones of U.S. strategy. He is a Senior Fellow of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments and Professor Emeritus of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval War College.

A recording of David Cooper’s talk can be viewed here.

Advancing Risk Reduction and Arms Control Objectives in the Evolving Strategic Environment

April 26, 2023 | Mallory Stewart, the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance (AVC) at the U.S. Department of State, discussed current U.S. risk reduction and arms control objectives.

China’s Approach to Strategic Deterrence

March 9, 2023 | Dr. Michael S. Chase, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for China, gave a virtual talk on China’s approach to strategic deterrence. Dr. Chase is the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense on China issues and is the single hub for policy and strategy development, oversight, authorities review, and national-level interagency integration for Department of Defense efforts on China.

U.S.-China Strategic Competition:
Beyond the Rhetoric

August 29, 2022 | Lieutenant General (LTG) Charles W. Hooper (Ret.), a Senior Counselor with The Cohen Group and former Director of the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency, discussed the strategic competition between the United States and China for geopolitical primacy in the Indo-Pacific. From his perspective as one of America’s most distinguished soldier statesmen during his 41-year military career, LTG Hooper argued that rational, factual, and dispassionate analysis—not heated political rhetoric—should shape U.S. decision making with regard to China’s rising power and ambition.

Science in Service of Diplomacy:
Fostering Connections

January 25, 2021 | Laura S. H. Holgate, former U.S. Ambassador to the Vienna Office of the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency and current Vice President for Materials Risk Management at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, discussed the importance of scientific and technical knowledge to the understanding, creation, and implementation of high-quality international security policy.

A recording of Laura Holgate’s talk can be viewed here.

From the Russell-Einstein Manifesto to
Beyond New START

July 28, 2020 | Rose Gottemoeller discussed the value of international scientific cooperation in the national security field. Her talk considers history from the 1950s to the current day, from the early scientists’ groups such as Pugwash, to the urgent work of fissile material control in Russia in the 1990s, to the role of different expertise in the New START negotiations. She concludes with a glance at the future—looking at the continuing role of interdisciplinary cooperation in tackling problems such as control and monitoring of warheads.

A recording of Rose Gottemoeller’s talk can be viewed here.

Arms Control and Disarmament:
Adjusting to a New Era

May 20, 2020 | Dr. Christopher Ford previously served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Weapons of Mass Destruction and Counterproliferation at the National Security Council. In 2006, Dr. Ford served as the U.S. Special Representative for Nuclear Nonproliferation, where he was responsible for U.S. diplomacy with respect to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. A Rhodes scholar and Yale Law School-educated attorney, Dr. Ford is the author of three books on Sino-American relations, Chinese world view, and U.S. Navy operational intelligence.

A recording of Dr. Ford’s talk can be viewed here.