Q&A: Nowhere To Go But Up? US-Russia Relations and the Threat of Nuclear War

Dr. Alexei Arbatov, Dr. Brad Roberts and Dr. David Holloway, among the most distinguished scholars in the field of nonproliferation and disarmament, answer questions from the audience on the future of US-Russia cooperation on issues relating to nuclear weapons. The panel discussion was moderated by Dr. Jeffrey Knopf, chair of the Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS). This is the second lecture in the Initiative’s Georgy Arbatov Memorial Lecture Series, in which speakers highlight lessons learned from past US-Russian cooperation during the Cold War and provide recommendations for a new dialogue. The speakers are: Alexei Arbatov Dr. Arbatov is a full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and heads the Center for International Security at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO), where he also completed his graduate and post-graduate studies. Dr. Arbatov served three terms in Russia’s Duma and was a member of the Soviet delegation to the START I negotiations. In addition to his roles at IMEMO, Dr. Arbatov also chairs nonproliferation program at Carnegie Center Moscow. Brad Roberts Dr. Brad Roberts is the director of the Center for Global Research Security at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense for Nuclear and Missile Defense Policy during the first Obama administration. In this capacity, Dr. Roberts helped to lead the administration’s Nuclear Policy Review and its Ballistic Missile Defense Review. Dr. Roberts is the author of The Case for U.S. Nuclear Weapons in the 21st Century, which he wrote during his time as a William Perry Fellow at the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) at Stanford University. David Holloway Dr. David Holloway is the Raymond A. Spruance Professor of International History at Stanford University. He has served as co-director of the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) at Stanford, as well as director of the Freeman Spogli Institute of International Studies. Dr. Holloway has authored numerous works on the history of nuclear weapons with a specific focus on the Soviet Union including Stalin and the Bomb: The Soviet Union and Atomic Energy, 1939-1956, which was selected by the New York Times Book Review as one of the best books of 1994. Jeffrey Knopf Jeffrey W. Knopf is a professor in the Graduate School of International Policy and Management at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, where he serves as the chair of the M.A. program in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies. Dr. Knopf is also a senior research associate at the Institute’s James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS). His most recent publication is a book volume he edited on International Cooperation on WMD Nonproliferation, published by University of Georgia Press. Watch the lecture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgA0MjUOy0s The panel took place May 3, 2016, at 6 p.m. in the Irvine Auditorium of the McCone Building (499 Pierce Street). This event was organized and hosted by the Graduate Initiative in Russian Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies with support from Carnegie Corporation of New York.