BRSL Events

Dr. Adam Mount will discuss his International Security article “Conventional Deterrence of Nuclear Use.” The article surveys recent technological developments, shifts in deterrence policy, and the results of twenty “tabletop interviews” with former senior U.S. officials who might plausibly have been consulted on a decision about how to deter a North Korean nuclear attack. While the academic and policy literature cast doubt on the efficacy of conventional deterrence, the results explain why U.S. officials increasingly consider conventional deterrence of nuclear use to be a viable and valuable capability.

Adam Mount is an independent scholar who has studied U.S. nuclear strategy, conventional deterrence, and progressive foreign policy. Previously, he was a Senior Fellow at the Federation of American Scientists and the Center for American Progress, as well as a Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. He received his Ph.D. from the Department of Government at Georgetown University.

The 2011 meltdown at Fukushima was the worst nuclear power plant disaster in Japan’s history, bringing back painful memories of trauma associated with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. While the aftermaths of Fukushima remain contentious, Japanese political elites have promoted a politics of recovery rather than a discourse of nuclear victimhood. Dr. Polleri examines how this approach, which pushes aside competing visions of recovery, has come to emphasize assurances of minimal radiation-related dangers, repatriation of former evacuees to Fukushima, continued pursuit of nuclear power, and promotion of a resilient mindset in the face of ongoing ecological challenges.

Maxime Polleri is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Université Laval and a member of the Graduate School of International Studies. As an anthropologist of technoscience, he studies the governance of disasters, waste and misinformation, with a primary focus on nuclear topics and a regional expertise on Japan.

The Berkeley Risk & Security Lab, in partnership with the Japan Society of Northern California, is pleased to announce the inaugural Transpacific Collaboration Forum. This event, supported by the National Association of Japan-America Societies and a coalition of esteemed academic and industry partners, will explore the critical intersections of industry resilience, capacity expansion, and transpacific collaboration in the semiconductor sector. The program will examine Japan’s semiconductor reinvestment efforts and its broader implications for global supply chains and technological innovation. Additional campus partners include the UC-Berkeley Center for Japanese Studies, and the Institute for Business Innovation at the Haas School of Business. 

Speakers and moderators: Nishikawa Kazumi, Dr. Sakyasingha Dasgupta, Henri Richard, Masato Miyake, Kazuhiro Gomi, Jay Goldberg, Jon Metzler.