Closer to Midnight: the Return to a Nuclear Arms Race

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Humanity stands closer than ever to catastrophe, warn the experts behind the Doomsday Clock. The tracker of human-caused destruction ticked one second closer to midnight last month, the closest it has ever been in its nearly eight-decade history. The shift reflects growing nuclear tensions, particularly the impending expiration of the New START treaty in 2026, which threatens to eliminate the last remaining arms control agreement between the U.S. and Russia. With little indication that either side is willing to extend it, the global nuclear balance grows more precarious. Meanwhile, China is rapidly increasing its warhead stockpile, while North Korea and Iran continue advancing their nuclear programs. As geopolitical tensions escalate, are we witnessing the start of a new nuclear arms race? What risks does this pose for global security, and are there any political openings to establish new arms control frameworks?

Join us for a discussion on the escalating risks of nuclear proliferation and the future of arms control, featuring Alexandra Bell, President and CEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Ambassador Steven Pifer, affiliate of Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation and non-resident Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and Dr. Tong Zhao, Senior Fellow at the Nuclear Policy Program and Carnegie China at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and nonresident researcher at the Science and Global Security Program of Princeton University.