Why the World Should Still Worry about Radiological Weapons – A Geneva Security Debate

Should the world still worry about state-level radiological weapons—a category of nonconventional weapons often referred to as “dirty bombs” and usually associated with non-state actors? What factors account for the initial pursuit of radiological weapons in the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, Egypt, and Iraq, and what explains their eventual abandonment? Looking forward, what are the prospects for the proliferation and use of radiological weapons and what can be done to curb their spread? 

Two distinguished arms control experts will discuss lessons from prior radiological weapons programs and past efforts at the Conference on Disarmament to prohibit this category of nonconventional weapons. They also will examine a new US-led initiative to revive negotiations on a legally binding prohibition of radiological weapons production and use.

This seminar focuses on the findings of the new book “Death Dust: The Rise, Decline and Future of Radiological Weapons Programs” co-authored by William Potter, Sarah Bidgood, Samuel Meyer, and Hanna Notte (Stanford University Press, 2023).

Opening Remarks

• Ambassador Thomas Greminger, Swiss Diplomat and Executive Director of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) and former Secretary-General of the OSCE

 
Speakers

• Dr William Potter, Director, James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies and Sam Nunn and Richard Lugar Professor of Nonproliferation Studies, Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey
• Dr Hanna Notte, Director, Eurasia Program Nonproliferation Program, James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey

 
Event moderator

• Dr Christina Schori Liang, Head of Counterterrorism and Preventing Violent Extremism, Research and Policy Advice Department, Geneva Centre for Security Policy.