The Case of the Rescinded Invite

B-52 Stratofortress bomber from the 96th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron lands on Andersen AFB, Guam. Photo source: US Air Force

Roger Cavazos asks, “What happened to Ambassador Robert King’s invite to North Korea?”  How could things have gone so disastrously off-track in 72 hours and what does it mean for the future of the relationships between the U.S. and North Korea?   Roger Cavazos is a Nautilus Institute Associate and retired US military officer with assignments in the intelligence and policy communities.

Nautilus Peace and Security Weekly – 5 September 2013

DETERRENCE: Statement on Chemical Weapons Use in Syria and the International Response DPRK: Engaging enemies: Fraught with Risk, Necessary for Peace ENERGY SECURITY: Climate at Five Minutes to Midnight: IPCC Head GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SOCIETY: Assembly Mulls Rebellion Arrest CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: Supporting Decision-Making for Effective Adaptation AUSTRAL PEACE AND SECURITY:  Australian Spies in Global Deal to Tap Undersea Cables DETERRENCE: Statement […]

Learning as a Change Catalyst for Climate Adaptation

Saleem Janjua advocates an analysis of how organizations learn from their own experience, other organizations, and how they develop their own internal understanding and framework for action under climate change.

Saleem Janjua is the Climate Change Adpation contributor to the NAPSNet Weekly Report, and the Editor of AdaptNet.

Nautilus Peace and Security Weekly – 29 August 2013

DETERRENCE: Legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons DPRK: N.Korea Seeks Four-Party Nuclear Talks ENERGY SECURITY: The Next Hurricane, and the Next GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SOCIETY: China VP tells S. Korea he’s ‘very furious’ over Japan’s rightward shift CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: Using Science for Disaster Risk Reduction: Report of the ISDR Scientific and Technical Advisory Group  DETERRENCE: Legality of […]

Nautilus Peace and Security Weekly – 22 August 2013

DETERRENCE: How to Deter Terrorism DPRK: Sustainable security in the Korean Peninsula: Envisioning a Northeast Asian Biodiversity corridor ENERGY SECURITY: Climate panel cites near certainty on warming GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SOCIETY: Thousands rally in Seoul over relations with North Korea CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: Risk management and climate change: The role of the financial services sector AUSTRAL PEACE AND SECURITY: Pine Gap’s role […]

Non-State Nuclear Attack Urban Target Arrays—Pathways and Risk Reduction Strategies

city with mushroom cloud overhead

In this policy forum essay, Peter Hayes argues that a determined non-state nuclear terrorist can choose to threaten any one of hundreds of cities, with a nuclear weapon, with a radiological weapon, or by attacking nuclear facilities.  The key risk reduction measures are to reduce numbers and increase security of nuclear weapons; favor urban form that increases urban resilience; and ensure spent fuel and reactors are extremely difficult to attack.

Peter Hayes is Professor of International Relations, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, Australia and Director, Nautilus Institute.

A New Day in Northeast Asia?

roadblock kaesong

James Goodby and Markku Heiskanen assess the significance of the recently reached agreement to reopen the Kaesong Industrial Complex. They write: “it shows a readiness to negotiate on both sides and could be seen as a first success for “trustpolitik,” President Park’s description of her hopes for North-South relations. Perhaps it signals the beginning of a new day in Korea.”
James Goodby is a former US ambassador to Finland now affiliated with Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and with the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution.

Markku Heiskanen is a retired Finnish diplomat, now program director of The Asia Institute in Seoul.

Connecting the Dots – In an Ocean?

connecting dots scribbles

Nikhil Desai questions the dubious connection between violence and crime and regional and global rises in temperatures.

Nikhil Desai, a Nautilus Associate, is an energy and environmental economist now dividing his time between Washington, DC and Ahmedabad, India.