Project on Nuclear Issues

Founded in 2003, PONI is the premier networked community of next generation professionals prepared to meet the nuclear challenges of the future

PONI programs provide inclusive, diverse, and creative opportunities for emerging experts to learn about nuclear issues and engage thoughtfully with the nuclear community. PONI also conducts cutting-edge research and analysis on three main topic areas: deterrence and escalation, risk reduction and arms control, and disarmament.

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Next Generation Nuclear Network

CSIS launched the Project on Nuclear Issues in 2003 to develop the next generation of policy, technical and operational nuclear professionals through outreach, mentorship, research and debate.

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Photo: CSIS

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Conference

Capstone Conference

Hosted by Project on Nuclear Issues
June 15, 2023 • 8:30 am – 3:45 pm EDT

Featured Analysis

Photo: Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Photo: Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Alternative Nuclear Futures: Capability and Credibility Challenges for U.S. Extended Nuclear Deterrence

In the next 10 years, U.S. extended deterrence could look notably different than it does today. To explore these issues, the CSIS Project on Nuclear Issues used an alternative futures methodology to unpack how key drivers might affect the U.S. extended deterrence mission.

Report by Heather Williams , Kelsey Hartigan , Joseph Rodgers , and Reja Younis — May 8, 2023

Featured Event

Upcoming
In Person

Capstone Conference

Presented by Project on Nuclear Issues
June 15, 2023 • 8:30 am – 3:45 pm EDT
Featured Project: Deterrence 101

Deterrence 101 is a collection of three thirty-minute long videos that explore core deterrence theory. Each video describes basic deterrence concepts, roots these ideas in a historical timeline, and features interviews with leading nuclear policy experts.

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Iran’s Latest Nuclear Provocation: What it Means, What Comes Next.

On July 1, Iran announced it breached some of the limits imposed by the nuclear deal and has threatened to go further if remaining deal participants will not provide sufficient economic benefits. CSIS’s Eric Brewer breaks down why this matters and what to expect next.

Critical Questions by Eric Brewer — July 1, 2019

The Art of Unraveling the Deal

A year after the United States withdrew from the JCPOA, Iran threatens to follow suit unless it reaps the sanction relief benefits it was promised under the deal. CSIS’s Hijab Shah and Sarah Minot Asrar examine possible ramifications from this unraveling going forward.

Commentary by Sarah Minot Asrar and Hijab Shah — May 10, 2019

Challenges in Nuclear Verification

Please join the Project on Nuclear Issues on April 5 for a keynote address and discussion with Yukiya Amano, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency on nuclear safeguards, the work the IAEA performs and the current challenges that faces.

Event by Rebecca Hersman and Yukiya Amano — April 5, 2019

The Future of Arms Control

Please join the Project on Nuclear Issues on a half-day conference to explore the future of arms control, strategic stability, and force modernization.

Event by Rebecca Hersman — April 3, 2019

On the Horizon: A Collection of the Papers from the Next Generation

The annual journal from the Project on Nuclear Issues (PONI) features new voices from emerging nuclear experts presenting their ideas and recommendations for addressing the nuclear community’s most pressing challenges.

Report by Rebecca Hersman and Sarah Minot Asrar — February 11, 2019

PONI 2018 Summer Conference

The two-day conference will feature presentations from emerging nuclear experts covering topics such as nuclear strategies, arms control and proliferation challenges, and deterrence.

Event by Rebecca Hersman — July 10, 2018

The Impossible State

Verification

Rebecca Hersman, the director of the Project on Nuclear issues at CSIS who is a former WMD non-proliferation expert with the Defense Department, discusses the challenges and mechanics of complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization in North Korea.

Podcast Episode by H. Andrew Schwartz — July 2, 2018

CSIS The Impossible State North Korea

Restoring Restraint

By understanding the system and corresponding accountability approaches, leaders can utilize a menu of potential actions for building more diverse, flexible, scalable, and implementable options to hold accountable users of chemical weapons.

Report by Rebecca Hersman and William Pittinos — June 19, 2018

PONI 2018 Capstone Conference

This one-day conference features presentations from emerging nuclear experts, covering nuclear strategies, rising threats in the East, arms control and proliferation challenges, threat to alliances and institutions, and more.

Event by Rebecca Hersman — April 12, 2018