A New Nuclear Age

Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the possibility of nuclear war felt like a problem of days past. Now, as great-power competition heats up, the potential for nuclear conflict seems higher than at any point in decades. How did the nuclear taboo fade, and what does nuclear proliferation mean for the United States?

Play Button Pause Button
0:00 0:00
x
Host
  • Gabrielle Sierra
    Director, Podcasting
Credits

Asher Ross - Supervising Producer

Markus Zakaria - Audio Producer and Sound Designer

Molly McAnany - Associate Podcast Producer

Episode Guests
  • J. Andrés Gannon
    Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow
  • Rupal N. Mehta
    Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Show Notes

Nuclear weapons never went away, but as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine extends into its second year, nuclear worries are making a comeback. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine, reigniting concerns about nuclear weapons and proliferation. Elsewhere, China has built up its own nuclear arsenal while ratcheting up tensions with Taiwan, and North Korea and Iran have continued to develop their own nuclear programs. Meanwhile, U.S. allies and bad actors alike could be seeking nuclear weapons of their own, and long-standing nuclear arms control agreements remain suspended.

 

A map of Europe showing the location of six U.S. nuclear weapon storage sites in U.S. allies, and nine Russian nuclear weapon storage sites in western Russia.


As U.S. officials confront these and other nuclear challenges, they will be tasked with preventing further proliferation that increases the likelihood of mutually assured destruction. How serious is today’s nuclear threat, and what are the prospects for global denuclearization?

 

A chart of the number of stockpiled nuclear warheads by country, showing Russia and the U.S. with far more than any other country.

 

 

From CFR

 

Jonathan Masters and Sabine Baumgartner, “Timeline: U.S.-Russia Nuclear Arms Control

 

Jonathan Masters and Will Merrow, “Nuclear Weapons in Europe: Mapping U.S. and Russian Deployments” 

 

Kali Robinson, “What Is the Iran Nuclear Deal?” 

 

Richard Haass, “The New Nuclear Era” 

 

 

From Our Guests

 

J. Andrés Gannon, “If Russia Goes Nuclear: Three Scenarios for the Ukraine War,” CFR.org

 

Rupal N. Mehta, Delaying Doomsday: The Politics of Nuclear Reversal, Oxford University Press

 

 

Read More

 

Jonathan Tirone, “U.S. Sees a New Era of Nuclear Risk Dawning in China-Russia Cooperation,” Bloomberg

 

What Happens if Nuclear Weapons Are Used?,” International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons

 

 

Watch and Listen

 

As Nuclear Tensions Rise, Should the World Be Worried?,” CFR.org

 

Plan A,” Princeton University Program on Science and Global Security

 

U.S. Preparedness for Nuclear and Radiological Threats,” CFR.org

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Scenes from the Israel-Hamas war have reverberated across the world. In the United States, debate about the conflict has intensified, and it has resurfaced long-standing questions about policy toward Israel and the Palestinian territories. What is the U.S. goal for the region? And how is the United States responding to the war?

Trade

International trade has shaped the world for much of the past century. Countries benefited from the global flow of goods, and the world became richer and safer. At the same time, many Americans lost their jobs to cheaper overseas competitors. Now, a series of compounding challenges, including great power competition and climate change, have led U.S. officials to rethink trade policy. What's next for international trade? And can the United States retain the benefits of trade while protecting critical supply chains and fighting climate change?

Drug Policy

Over the past few years, a new threat has emerged as a leading cause of death in the United States: fentanyl. Yet even as the drug wreaks havoc on Americans lives, preventing its flow into the United States is complicated, partially because of the supply’s overseas origins, which is often China. What is China’s role in the U.S. fentanyl crisis?

Top Stories on CFR

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Steven Cook, the Eni Enrico Mattei senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at CFR, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the collapse of the temporary ceasefire in Gaza and the future of the conflict between Israel and Hamas

Budget, Debt, and Deficits

After years of steadily increasing debt, federal spending has skyrocketed, taking U.S. debt to levels not seen since World War II.   

United States

Committed global action at every level of government, the economy, and society is needed to tackle such a complex, multifaceted challenge, and a growing awareness that time is running out should help to foster it at the UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai. But the real test will come after, when promises must be kept.