CNS Founding Director
[email protected]
Monterey, CA
831.647.3511
Activities
- Sam Nunn and Richard Lugar Professor
of Nonproliferation Studies - Founding Director of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS)
- Member of the Council on Foreign Relations
Areas of Research
- Nuclear terrorism
- Forecasting proliferation developments
- US-Russian relations
- NPT review process
- NAM nuclear politics
Background
Dr. William Potter has served as a consultant to the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the RAND Corporation, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
He has been a member of several committees of the National Academy of Sciences, including its Nonproliferation Panel.
He served for five years on the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters and the Board of Trustees of the UN Institute for Disarmament Research.
He has participated as a delegate at every NPT Review Conference and Preparatory Committee meeting since 1995.
CNS Work
- CNS 25th Anniversary Celebration in Washington, DCOver 130 alumni and friends gathered to celebrate the first quarter century of the Center, at a gala reception on March 25, 2015.
- Coalitions to Watch at the 2015 NPT Review ConferenceCNS experts discuss how cross-regional coalitions might influence the 2015 NPT Review Conference.
- CNS Director Awarded Highest Honor by the Government of ChileThe award, in recognition of his work in the field of disarmament and nonproliferation education, is the highest honor conferred on non-Chileans.
- NPT Symposium: Fresh Ideas for the FutureScholars with “Fresh Ideas” on the NPT are invited to submit proposals to a symposium jointly hosted by CNS, the Netherlands, UNODA, and Harvard’s Belfer Center.
- MIIS Signs MOU for Academic Cooperation with Premier Russian UniversityThe program will include faculty drawn from researchers affiliated with CNS at MIIS and the PIR Center in Moscow.
- Head of CTBTO visits Monterey, Engages Students and ExpertsDr. Lassina Zerbo’s September visit includes an ArmsControlWonk.com podcast recording, available for download.
- Nuclear Implications of the Ukraine CrisisPossible implications for the 2014 NPT PrepCom.
- Advancing Nuclear Disarmament: The US RoleWhile impediments to a more assertive US role are immense, progress could be achieved with astute and bold leadership.
- Dirty Bombs: Not Just for TerroristsA look at North Korea’s possible state use of dirty bombs.
- The CW Revolution Will Be TweetedThe world can use social media tools to help prevent the Syrian government from using chemical weapons in the future.
Bibliography
Books
- End of an Era: The United States, Russia, and Nuclear Nonproliferation (2021), co-authored with Sarah Bidgood
- Nuclear Politics and the Non-Aligned Movement (2012)
- The Four Faces of Nuclear Terrorism (2005)
- Tactical Nuclear Weapons: Options for Control (2000)
- Nuclear Profiles of the Soviet Successor States (1993)
- Soviet Decisionmaking for Chernobyl: An Analysis of System Performance and Policy Change (1990)
- Nuclear Power and Nonproliferation: An Interdisciplinary Perspective (1982)
Editor
- Verification and SALT: The Challenge of Strategic Deception (1980)
- Verification and Arms Control (1985), and International Nuclear Trade and Nonproliferation (1990)
Co-Editor
- Once and Future Partners: The United States, Russia, and Nuclear Non-proliferation (2018)
- Preventing Black-Market Trade in Nuclear Technology (2018)
- Forecasting Nuclear Nonproliferation in the 21st Century (2 volumes, 2010)
- Engaging China and Russia on Nuclear Disarmament (2009)
- The Global Politics of Combating Nuclear Terrorism: A Supply Side Approach (2009)
- Dangerous Weapons, Desperate States (1999)
- Dismantling the Cold War: U.S. and NIS Perspectives on the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program (1997)
- Soviet Decisionmaking for National Security (1984)
- The Nuclear Suppliers and Nonproliferation (1985
- Continuity and Change in Soviet-East European Relations (1989)
- International Missile Bazaar: The New Suppliers’ Network (1994)
Dr. Potter has contributed chapters and articles to over 130 scholarly books and journals.