CNS Distinguished Fellow
Washington DC Office
[email protected]
Washington DC
202.601.2377
Background
Prior to joining CNS, from 1997 to 2001, Mr. Leonard Spector served as Assistant Deputy Administrator for Arms Control and Nonproliferation at the US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).
His principal responsibilities at the NNSA included development and implementation of:
- Arms control and nonproliferation policy with respect to international treaties
- US domestic and multilateral export controls
- Inspection and technical cooperation activities of the International Atomic Energy Agency
- Civilian nuclear activities in the United States and abroad
- Initiatives in regions of proliferation concern, including the canning of plutonium-bearing spent nuclear fuel in North Korea and Kazakhstan
- Transparency provisions of bilateral agreements with Russia covering the purchase of weapons-grade uranium and the cessation of plutonium production
Prior to his service at the NNSA, Mr. Spector directed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he established the Program on Post-Soviet Nuclear Affairs at the Carnegie Moscow Center and organized one of the leading annual international conferences on non-proliferation issues. Earlier in his career, Mr. Spector served as Chief Counsel to the Senate Energy and Nonproliferation Subcommittee and as a Special Counsel at the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Mr. Spector is the author or co-author of six books and numerous articles on nonproliferation and comments frequently on this subject in the media. His current research focuses on the elimination of chemical weapons in Syria, mechanisms for restraining Iran’s nuclear program, and tools to prevent nuclear commodity smuggling.
While with CNS from late 2005 to April 2008, Mr. Spector served as Editor-in-Chief of the monthly web journal WMD Insights and later led the Center’s Project on Nonproliferation Policy and Law. His most recent works include an in-depth study, co-authored with Egle Murauskaite, “Combatting Nuclear Commodity Smuggling: A System of Systems,” CNS Occasional Paper 20, November 2014, and co-editing with William Potter, Matthew Bunn, and Martin Malin, Preventing Black-Market Trade in Nuclear-Related Technologies (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming). He is currently completing a report on outlawing state-sponsored illicit nuclear procure networks and pursuing recovery of purloined nuclear goods.
CNS Work
- Cyber Offense and a Changing Strategic Paradigm
How will strategic relations among the US, Russia, and China be impacted as they work to implant stealthy malware to compromise each other’s nuclear weapon systems and critical infrastructures? - Assistant Secretary Ford on Efforts Toward a Middle East WMD-Free Zone
The US representative calls for “practical steps and confidence-building measures.” - A Model Law Prohibiting Luxury Goods Transfers to North Korea
CNS has developed a model embargo law easily adaptable by UN Member States. - OP #42: The Other Fissile Material: Strengthening National and International Plutonium Management Approaches
Recommendations to avoid risks posed by existing and potential reprocessing programs. - Preventing Black-Market Trade in Nuclear Technology
A book co-edited by Matthew Bunn, William C. Potter, Leonard S. Spector, and Martin B. Malin. - The Six-Day War (1967) Revisited: The Nuclear Dimension
MAY 31, 2018: A half-day panel discussion co-hosted with the Nuclear Proliferation International History Project. - OP#35: Countering North Korean Procurement Networks Through Financial Measures: The Role of Southeast Asia
Occasional Paper #35 is intended to aid Southeast Asian governments and financial institutions to counter financing of WMD programs in North Korea and other states of concern. - President Trump Ready to Decertify Iran Deal
The end of the JCPOA could have serious, complicating effects on proliferation, regional security, and international trade. - US Blames Assad Regime for Worst Chemical Weapons Attack in Syria in Years
For more on the implications of this latest development, CNS experts are available for comment. - In Remembrance of Lawrence Scheinman
He will be greatly missed by his many friends and colleagues in the United States and abroad.
Bibliography
- Tracking Nuclear Proliferation 1995: A Guide in Maps and Charts (with Mark McDonough and Evan Medeiros, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1995)
- Nuclear Ambitions: The Spread of Nuclear Weapons, 1989-1990 (Westview Press, 1990)
- The Undeclared Bomb: The Spread of Nuclear Weapons, 1987-1988 (Harper Business 1990)
