George Perkovich, the Ken Olivier and Angela Nomellini Chair and vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, gave a lecture on 20 March at the FRIB Laboratory. Perkovich’s lecture is part of MSU’s Distinguished Nuclear Policy Lecture series. As part of his visit, Sean Liddick, associate professor of chemistry at FRIB and in MSU’s Department of Chemistry, and FRIB associate director for experimental science, hosted Perkovich on a tour of the facility and discussed FRIB’s history, progress, science, and technology along the way.
The “Does Nuclear Arms Control with Russia and China Have a Future?” abstract states: “Nuclear arms control for the foreseeable future will be hindered by polarized politics that impact compromise with foreign adversaries and internal opponents, and by the emergence of new technologies and multi-party rather than bilateral strategic contests. This presentation will explore how these processes confound military planners, political leaders, and diplomatic negotiators in each country who would have to figure out what sorts of arms control bargains are desirable and acceptable. History suggests ways to overcome these obstacles, but the pathways to be navigated today are more challenging.”
Perkovich, who oversees Carnegie’s Technology and International Affairs Program and Nuclear Policy Program, works primarily on nuclear strategy and nonproliferation issues, cyberconflict, and new approaches to international public-private management of strategic technologies. He is the author of the prize-winning book, India’s Nuclear Bomb (University of California Press, 1999), and co-author of, Not War, Not Peace? Motivating Pakistan to Prevent Cross-Border Terrorism (Oxford University Press, 2016).
Perkovich’s short-form writing has appeared in leading international journals and newspapers. He has advised many agencies of the U.S. government, and testified before both houses of Congress. He has been a member of the National Academy of Science’s Committee on Arms Control and International Security, the Council on Foreign Relations Task Force on Nuclear Policy, and was a principal adviser to the International Commission on Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament, a joint initiative of the governments of Japan and Australia. He served as a speechwriter and foreign policy adviser to Senator Joe Biden (D-Del.) from 1989-90.
The Distinguished Nuclear Policy Lecture series is a partnership between Michigan State University’s James Madison College and FRIB that brings global policy experts to campus for talks about the political and scientific communities. This lecture series brings together experts and scholars from diverse backgrounds to discuss issues related to nuclear policy, arms control, and non-proliferation. The lectures provide insights, analysis, and perspectives on the current challenges and opportunities in the evolving field of nuclear policy.