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 creative opportunities for emerging experts from a wide range of backgrounds 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.

Photo: CSIS

Photo: CSIS

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Photo: Airman 1st Class Jack Rodriguez

Photo: Airman 1st Class Jack Rodriguez

HTK Series

A public discussion series with Heather Williams, Tom Karako, and Kari Bingen offering real-time context and commentary on national security developments and strategic forces issues

Featured Analysis

Photo: iLab/CSIS

Photo: iLab/CSIS

Game On: Opportunities for Euro-Atlantic Strategic Stability and Arms Control

Europe is likely to remain a theater of instability despite pressure for a peace settlement in Ukraine. As the United States shifts toward the Indo-Pacific and Russia continues to pursue its territorial ambitions, what might arms control look like after the war in Ukraine?

Report by Heather Williams, Nicholas Adamopoulos, Lachlan MacKenzie, and Catherine Murphy — April 21, 2025

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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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Audio Briefs

Options for the United States to Resolve the Iran Nuclear Challenge

An audio version of “⁠Options for the United States to Resolve the Iran Nuclear Challenge⁠,” a new commentary by CSIS’s Heather Williams and Joseph Rodgers. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs.  

Podcast Episode by Heather Williams and Joseph Rodgers — April 2, 2026

Audio Briefs

Options for the United States to Resolve the Iran Nuclear Challenge

The nuclear issue is likely to determine not only when the war ends, but also how it ends, and who can claim “victory.” Per Trump’s speech, there are at least three nuclear off-ramps to help the administration retreat from the conflict and avoid a costly war.

Commentary by Heather Williams and Joseph Rodgers — April 2, 2026

Trump’s New Nuclear Architecture for Modernization and Arms Control

The Trump administration recently announced a new architecture for nuclear policy, which includes an enduring commitment to nuclear modernization and arms control. The United States can expand and diversify its nuclear arsenal and work toward nuclear risk reduction measures.

Brief by Heather Williams and Nicholas Adamopoulos — March 13, 2026

Operation Epic Fury and the Remnants of Iran’s Nuclear Program

Following stalled nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran, Operations Epic Fury and Roaring Lion move beyond previous discrete counterproliferation operations to promote regime change from within.

Critical Questions by Joseph Rodgers and Bailey Schiff — February 28, 2026