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 Advisory Council Meeting Featured CTBO Executive Secretary Robert Floyd, NPT Review Conference President Gustavo Zlauvinen, and US Under-Secretary of State Bonnie JenkinsThe CNS International Advisory Council held its annual meeting in Washington, DC on October 24, 2022.
- The Demise of the USSR and the Nuclear Aftermath in Belarus, Kazakhstan, and UkraineWilliam C. Potter reviews a Journal of Cold War Studies article by Mariana Budjeryn.
- The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty – a View from WashingtonEVENT July 21, 2022: William Potter will moderate a major live-streamed NPT event with Amb. Adam Scheinman for the Los Angeles World Affairs Council.
- NPT Diplomats Meet in Annecy 2022Over 60 senior diplomats, officials, and experts met for the traditional CNS NPT Diplomatic Workshop on “The 10th NPT Review Conference: Prospects and Pitfalls.”
- Russian Misinformation About Ukrainian Radiological Weapons Capabilities and IntentionsA flurry of unsubstantiated and intentionally misleading allegations began prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and continue to this date.
- The Fallout from Russia’s Attack on Ukrainian Nuclear FacilitiesWhy have these civilian nuclear facilities been the object of attack, and what are the likely consequences of this high-risk military action by Moscow?
- Happy Holidays and Happy New Year 2022My CNS colleagues and I wish you a peaceful and joyous New Year.
- (Final) Preparations for the Tenth NPT Review ConferenceDelegates to the 10th NPT Review Conference had the opportunity to interact with each other and with representatives from civil society on a number of key issues related to the Conference and its outcome.
- Setting the Tone for the 10th NPT Review Conference: A Working Lunch in New YorkCNS organized, in consultation with the President-designate of the 10th Review Conference and the Office of Disarmament Affairs, a high-level consultative working lunch.
- End of an Era: The United States, Russia, and Nuclear NonproliferationUS-Russian cooperation on nuclear nonproliferation: Will shared interests prevail or fall victim to rivalry and mistrust?
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.