Nuclear Security Summit 2016 March 31-April 1, Washington D.C.

Nuclear Security Summit 2016 March 31 - April 1, Washington, D.C.

In April, 2009, President Barack Obama gave a now-famous speech in Prague, Czech Republic, in which he outlined a strategy for dealing with the dangers of the world’s arsenal of nuclear weapons. The cornerstone of this vision, which came to be known as the Prague Agenda, was the creation of four Nuclear Security Summits, high-level meetings at which heads of state would discuss the implementation of restrictions that would help secure nuclear weapons, fissile material, and nuclear facilities in order to prevent terrorists from wreaking “nuclear havoc,” as Bulletin editor John Mecklin calls it—either through the sabotage of nuclear facilities or through building and using their own bomb. This week, the fourth and perhaps final Nuclear Security Summit takes place in Washington, D.C. The Bulletin covers nuclear security and nuclear terrorism issues regularly, but we asked a variety of experts to address these issues in the run up to this Nuclear Security Summit. Take a look at our coverage, and be sure to let us know what you think about these important issues in our latest poll. Nuclear security: Continuous improvement or dangerous decline? Ahead of the Nuclear Security Summit, top experts from Harvard's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs offer ideas for improved nuclear security that prevents terrorists from making a nuclear weapon. Banning the production of highly enriched uranium Leading experts from Princeton University's Program on Science and Global Security explain why it is feasible for all production of highly enriched uranium—for military and civilian purposes—to be banned, and how such a ban could also be extended to plutonium. Sam Nunn on the Nuclear Security Index and slowing progress on safeguarding nuclear materials Former US Sen. Sam Nunn, co-architect of the Nunn-Lugar Act, talks to the Bulletin about his organization’s most recent Nuclear Security Index and the upcoming Nuclear Security Summit. The Nuclear Security Summit will leave unfinished work A senior research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies explores the options for continuing the work of Nuclear Security Summits after the fourth and likely last summit ends. How China needs to improve its legal framework on nuclear security A Harvard expert on China's nuclear industry gives his detailed analysis of the changes in law, regulation, cybersecurity, and physical protection that are needed to improve the security of Chinese fissile material. William Perry's nuclear nightmare The former defense secretary shares his nightmare scenario in this video produced by the William J. Perry Project: A nuclear terrorist attack on Washington, DC, followed by martial law and detention centers. Debunking nuclear security hype on the eve of the Nuclear Security Summit A project manager with the international nonprofit CRDF Global argues that there is too much sensationalism in coverage of nuclear security, which threatens to undermine real efforts to make the world safer. Roundtable: What path for nuclear security beyond the 2016 summit? Experts from Ghana, Turkey, and the United States debate how much the Nuclear Security Summits have accomplished; what still must be achieved to ensure the security of nuclear materials worldwide; and whether, after the final scheduled summit, the international community should seek to continue the process. You can follow summit coverage on Twitter with the hashtag #NSS2016