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February 17, 2009 Contact: Jennifer McNulty (831) 459-2495; jmcnulty@ucsc.edu Nuclear weapons, terrorism, and global security: Leading expert to speak Feb. 26 at UC Santa Cruz
The debate over nuclear arms control is dominated by talk of national security, but a leading analyst suggests that the exclusive nature of the world's "nuclear club" contributes to global instability by violating fundamental ideas of fairness among nations. George Perkovich, one of the most influential voices on nuclear arms issues, has drafted a blueprint for rethinking the international nuclear nonproliferation regime by addressing issues of equity among countries that have nuclear weapons and those that do not. He will discuss his work during a free public lecture at UC Santa Cruz on Thursday, February 26. His talk, "A Fresh Approach to Nuclear Weapons, Terrorism, and Global Security," will begin at 7 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room of College Nine and College Ten, following presentation to Perkovich of the fourth annual Social Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award. An affiliate of Cowell College, he graduated from UCSC in 1981 with a degree in politics. "George Perkovich brings enduring honor to UC Santa Cruz through his important work on nuclear weapons policy," said Social Sciences Dean Sheldon Kamieniecki, who will present the award to Perkovich. "He has made outstanding contributions to society, and we look forward to bringing him back to campus to honor him and celebrate his many accomplishments." Perkovich, a former speechwriter and adviser to Vice President Joseph Biden, is vice president for studies and director of the Nonproliferation Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The author of India's Nuclear Bomb, Perkovich coauthored the Carnegie Endowment's 2005 report "WMD in Iraq: Evidence and Implications," which was the first to call for the creation of an independent commission to investigate U.S. intelligence failures in Iraq. Most recently, he authored the major Carnegie report, "Universal Compliance: A Strategy for Nuclear Security." Based in Washington, D.C., Perkovich has spent more than two decades focusing on nuclear arms issues. His latest pathbreaking work builds on insights he has gleaned during years of research into India's nuclear program. "At least as important as classic security concerns is a desire for equality among states and the sense that it doesn't seem fair that five countries got nuclear weapons and everybody else isn't supposed to get them," said Perkovich. Drafting of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in 1968 was premised on the idea that the five nations that had nuclear weapons--the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China--would get rid of them "and there would be an equitable outcome," noted Perkovich. Nuclear weapons conferred a great deal of power and mystique on nations that possessed them, generating a sense of "higher standing" for some--and discontent among nonnuclear nations. "People didn't want to accept over time that kind of inequity because they don't want their world to be that unfair," he said. "And there is a racial dimension to it, as well; a sense that it's fine for white folks to have these weapons, but as soon as dark folks try to get them, it becomes very threatening." Fairness is critical to the success of nonproliferation efforts, which are based on voluntary compliance, noted Perkovich. "Voluntary compliance happens when the rules are fair," he said. "People go along with rules because they are seen as fair and they make sense.
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