NDC Research Division’s Early-Career Nuclear Strategists Workshop - ECNSW (30 June to 2 July 2020)

Because of COVID-19, this year’s event was held on-line with more than 60 participants from the US and Europe.

The Workshop aimed at enhancing and disseminating the necessary competencies, understanding and skills on the concept and practice of nuclear strategy, with a view to forging a new generation of nuclear experts.

The Workshop also saw leading scholars and practitioners delivering keynote speeches: Bruno Tertrais from the Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique in Paris (Nuclear Strategy); Tom Plant from RUSI in London (Understanding the Threat); Gen.(ret.) Heinrich Brauß from the German Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin (NATO Nuclear Deterrence); Målfrid Braut-Hegghammer from the University of Oslo (Theory and Practice); Elaine Bunn from the U.S. National Defense University in Washington, DC (Nuclear Doctrine); and Jessica Cox from the Nuclear Policy Directorate at NATO HQ in Brussels (Emerging Technologies and Nuclear Stability).

Each keynote speech was followed by three early-career scholars presenting their own research. These ranged from the role of psychology in nuclear deterrence and the usefulness of wargames, the future of arms control, extended deterrence and nuclear sharing, and nuclear modernization to artificial intelligence and computer simulations.

Scholars from all parts of the Alliance, from different backgrounds, professional paths and affiliations joined the discussions in each panel session, to which a large number of non-presenting participants also contributed.