Tuesday, April 21, 2026, 1:00-2:30pm PT

This talk will outline a recently published edited volume: a sobering work on how efforts to reduce nuclear weapons dangers may sometimes wind up exacerbating them. The existential risks posed to the world by nuclear weapons are growing. Efforts to halt nuclear proliferation, manage crises, promote arms control, and build alliances are all considered fundamental to reducing the likelihood of nuclear catastrophe. Yet, no tool is guaranteed to succeed and some may even have unanticipated, counterproductive consequences for international security. In a field fixated on finding solutions, this volume takes the opposite tack. It calls for close scrutiny of “standard operating procedures” in nuclear politics and warns decision makers, scholars, and students not to lose sight of the drivers and often calamitous effects of failed nuclear policies. The volume’s authors aim to provide insights for navigating the difficult nuclear choices pursued in Washington, D.C., and other capitals around the globe.

Dr. Ariel Petrovics is a Visiting Scholar at the University of Denver and a research associate and former Research Professor at University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy. She is a Non-Resident Fellow with the Quincy Institute and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. She has held positions as a Stanton Nuclear Security and post-doctoral fellow at Harvard’s Belfer Center. Her research examines the effectiveness of foreign policy strategies on nuclear proliferation and international security. Beyond this book, other examples of her work can be found in Journal of Global Security Studies, Foreign Policy, The Washington Quarterly, and Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.