Executive Director
[email protected]
Vienna, Austria
+43 (1) 236-948-201
Background
Elena K. Sokova is currently the Executive Director of the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation. She was the Deputy Director of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (2015-2019). Previously, she was the Executive Director of the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation (2011-2015). Before the Vienna appointment, she was Assistant Director at CNS and held a number of other research appointments in Monterey. Elena K. Sokova is a member of the Global Agenda Council on Nuclear Security (World Economic Forum) and chair of a working group on the elimination of civil HEU established by the Fissile Material Working Group.
Areas of Research
- Fissile materials security and control
- Trafficking in nuclear and radioactive materials
- International organizations and regimes in nonproliferation and disarmament
- Nuclear nonproliferation issues in Eurasia
- Nuclear nonproliferation and international safeguards issues
- Nonproliferation and disarmament education and training
Education
Elena Sokova holds a Master’s degree in International Public Administration from the Monterey Institute of International Studies (2000) and a Law Degree from the Moscow State University (1992).
CNS Work
- Putin’s War with Ukraine: Voices of CNS Experts on the Russian Invasion
A compendium of CNS expert analysis and commentary on the nuclear ramifications of the war, as well as educational materials for expert and general audience. - Global Health Security Implications of COVID-19
There are still many grey areas related to the virus, including its origin, emerging genetic variants and security implications. - Strengthening the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and its Verification Regime
Panel discussions on the importance of the CTBT to national/international security and the nonproliferation regime. - The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons: What’s Next
WEBINAR: Speakers address the treaty’s impact on nuclear disarmament and the international nonproliferation regime. - Happy Holidays and Happy New Year (2020)
My CNS colleagues and I wish you a peaceful and joyous New Year. - Implications of US withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty
The latest blow to the global arms control architecture. - An Intensive Short Course on Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament for South African Diplomats and Practitioners
In November 2018, CNS co-partnered a one-week intensive course to 30 participants from South Africa. - Nuclear Transparency Measures
Deputy Director Elena Sokova discusses US-Russian information exchanges on a CSIS podcast. - Understanding Nuclear Weapon Risks: Non-State Actors and Nuclear Weapons
Assessment of the risks of nuclear weapons and materials falling into wrong hands and efforts to deny terrorists and non-state actors access. - President-Elect Trump Calls to “Strengthen and Expand” US Nuclear Capability
CNS experts available for comment.
Bibliography of Recent Publications
- “Understanding Nuclear Weapon Risks: Non-State Actors and Nuclear Weapons,” author of a chapter in UNIDIR study Understanding Nuclear Risks.
- “Improving the Security of All Nuclear Materials,” co-director and co-editor, report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) and the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation (VCDNP).
- “How can we push for tighter security for nuclear weapons?” op-ed co-authored with Mark Fitzpatrick, IISS, for the World Economic Forum web site, 2 June 2015.
- “The Case for Highly Enriched Uranium-Free Zones,” NTI Paper, co-authored with Miles Pomper and Andrew Bienjawski, 26 June 2015.
- “UNSCR 1540: Improving Capacity, Communication, and Civil Society Engagement,” 1540 Compass, Issue # 4, 2013.
- “Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Education. Recent Developments and the Way Forward,” CTBTO Spectrum, Issue 19, September 2012.
- US-Russian Partnership for Advancing a Nuclear Security Agenda. Recommendations for U.S.-Russian cooperation in strengthening nuclear security in the former Soviet states and Southeast Asia, co-editor and author, June 2012.
