Publications

Integrating nuclear weapons stockpile management and nuclear arms control objectives to enable significant stockpile reductions

Sanders, Lani M.; Deland, Sharon M.; Pregenzer, Arian L.

In his 2009 Prague speech and the 2010 Nuclear Posture Review, President Barack Obama committed the United States to take concrete steps toward nuclear disarmament while maintaining a safe, secure, and effective nuclear deterrent. There is an inherent tension between these two goals that is best addressed through improved integration of nuclear weapons objectives with nuclear arms control objectives. This article reviews historical examples of the interaction between the two sets of objectives, develops a framework for analyzing opportunities for future integration, and suggests specific ideas that could benefit the nuclear weapons enterprise as it undergoes transformation and that could make the future enterprise compatible with a variety of arms control futures. © 2010 Monterey Institute of International Studies, James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.