PERFORMING FEALTY IN A NUCLEAR ALLIANCE: ‘UNDERSTANDING AND RESPECTING’ AND ‘NEITHER CONFIRM NOR DENY’

VINCE SCAPPATURA AND RICHARD TANTER APRIL 19, 2026 I. INTRODUCTION Vince Scappatura and Richard Tanter examine the relationship between Australia’s deepening position in relation to United States nuclear weapons and strains in government legitimation practices. Australia’s involvement in U.S. nuclear weapons operations has deepened from longstanding reliance on extended deterrence and the hosting of major U.S. […]

THE NEED FOR AN INTERNATIONAL LAW-INFORMED CODE OF CONDUCT FOR NUCLEAR COMMAND, CONTROL AND COMMUNICATION (NC3)

EMILY CRAWFORD MARCH 16 2026 I.  INTRODUCTION Emily Crawford argues that nuclear command, control and communications (NC3) systems are beset by vulnerabilities, including susceptibility to cyber and other remote attacks, as well as weaknesses due to obsolete legacy technologies and complex command and communication structures.”  She concludes: “For NC3 systems to effectively and accurately fulfil […]

US STRATEGIC COMMAND ON NUCLEAR WEAPONS & LAWS OF ARMED CONFLICT

PETER HAYES FEBRUARY 22 2026 I.  INTRODUCTION This special report written and edited by Peter Hayes summarizes and provides copies of 10 documents released under the US Freedom of Information Act on legal guidance on STRATCOM’s compliance with the laws of armed conflict in relation to nuclear weapons. Peter Hayes is Director of the Nautilus […]

THE NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY’S GORDIAN KNOT: THE INTRACTABLE PROBLEM OF THE LEGALITY OF NUCLEAR SHARING

ANNA HOOD FEBRUARY 20 2026 I.       INTRODUCTION Anna Hood analyses whether Articles I and II of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) permit nuclear sharing. She argues—contrary to previous research—that the ordinary meaning of Articles I and II, the NPT’s travaux préparatoires and subsequent agreements and practice point to a deep ambiguity as to whether nuclear […]

ESCALATION DYNAMICS UNDER THE NUCLEAR SHADOW—INDIA’S APPROACH

RAKESH SOOD FEBRUARY 10, 2026s I.  INTRODUCTION Rakesh Sood concludes that “While nuclear weapons will induce restraint and neither country is likely to engage in an all-out war to change the territorial status quo, the likelihood of cross-border terrorist attacks followed by kinetic retaliation and consequent escalation cannot be ruled out…Since the doctrines and the […]

AFTER NEW START: THE B-52 STRATEGIC BOMBER AND THE COLLAPSE OF TREATY CONSTRAINTS

VINCE SCAPPATURA AND RICHARD TANTER JANUARY 30 2026 I. INTRODUCTION Vince Scappatura and Richard Tanter argue that the imminent expiration of the New START treaty on 6 February of this year marks not simply the end of a treaty, but the collapse of a wider decades-long framework constraining the nuclear arms race between the United […]

HOW TO ASSESS NUCLEAR ‘THREATS’ IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

GEORGE PERKOVICH JANUARY 20 2026 I.  INTRODUCTION George Perkovich argues that ‘nuclear threat’ needs to be defined with more care and nuance to enable decision makers to distinguish serious nuclear threats that demand a countervailing action from nuclear threats that are mere noise or allusion aiming to manipulate nuclear anxiety but do not pose a […]