New Task Force on Nuclear Proliferation and U.S. National Security

Amid increasingly tense geopolitics, growing nuclear threats, and risks posed by rapidly evolving technologies, the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) have announced the creation of a new high-level Task Force on Nuclear Proliferation and U.S. National Security.

When President-elect Donald Trump takes office, his administration will face nuclear threats from Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, and others; interest in nuclear weapons from several allies and partners; and steady expansion in the global nuclear energy sector. 

The bipartisan group, co-chaired by Meghan L. O’Sullivan, director of the Belfer Center, Mariano-Florentino (Tino) Cuellar, president of Carnegie, and NTI Co-Chair and CEO Ernest J. Moniz, aims to produce a consensus report by mid-2025 that characterizes the emerging nuclear proliferation landscape; evaluates the relative importance of preventing the spread of nuclear weapons as a strategic objective in U.S. national security policy; examines the various policy options and their implications; and offers recommendations to help guide U.S. national security policy going forward.

“At a time of heightened geopolitical risk and technological change, the threat of nuclear proliferation is increasing — raising the danger that the wrong strategies and policies could trigger enormous long-term consequences,” said O’Sullivan. “This task force will examine the nuclear threat landscape and key proliferation drivers to develop a policy roadmap that mitigates risks for the world and protects American security. Leveraging Carnegie’s extensive expertise on nuclear policy, and in collaboration with our partners at Belfer and NTI, we strive for a world free from the dangers of nuclear conflict.”