The nuclear dimension of deterrence has returned to the forefront of international security concerns. In recent months, the United States and Russia abrogated the 1987 Intermediate Nuclear Forces treaty, and Russia suffered two fatal, and still mysterious, accidents involving its military nuclear programs. Outside Europe, China rejected trilateral arms control talks with the United States and Russia, North Korea resumed testing of short-range ballistic missiles, and Iran responded to renewed US sanctions by selectively breaching provisions of the 2015 multilateral deal intended to preclude its acquisition of a nuclear weapon. Given such realities, this seminar seeks to inform and stimulate further debate on how best to deter conflicts that can directly threaten global peace and security, posing grave risks to Finland’s security, sovereignty, and its most important institutions and values.
The seminar marks the publication of the final report of a FIIA-led research project, ‘New challenges for strategic deterrence in the 21st century’, funded by the Government Plan for Analysis, Assessment and Research for 2018. The report is entitled “Strategic deterrence redux: nuclear weapons and European Security”.
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Robert G. Bell
Robert G. Bell served as the Senior Civilian Representative of the Secretary of Defense in Europe and the Defense Advisor to the U.S. Ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization from 2010 until 2017. As the Senior Civilian Representative, Bell was responsible for planning, recommending, coordinating, and monitoring Department of Defense policies, programs, and initiatives throughout Europe. As Defence Advisor, he was responsible for the formulation, coordination, and presentation of Department of Defense policies to the U.S. Ambassador to NATO. Before assuming that position, Bell was the Senior Vice President of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) from 2004 until 2010. Bell served as NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defense Investment from 1999-2003. From 1993-1999, he worked at the White House National Security Council (NSC) as a Special Assistant to President Clinton for National Security Affairs and as the NSC Senior Director for Defense Policy and Arms Control.
Tom Plant
Tom Plant joined RUSI in June 2017 as the Director of its Proliferation and Nuclear Policy programme. His research interests include nuclear deterrence, arms control, proliferation issues – particularly in relation to North Korea – and UK nuclear policy. He is also Director of the UK Project on Nuclear Issues (PONI), a cross-generational network of over 900 members which encourages young scholars and professionals to engage with established experts on contemporary nuclear issues. Before joining RUSI he was a Principal Specialist at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE), where he was responsible for technical oversight of arms control verification research programmes, including collaborations and exchanges with counterparts in China, Norway, Sweden and the US. Prior to that he held various posts at the Ministry of Defence and Foreign and Commonwealth Office, mostly focussed on non- and counter-proliferation issues in East Asia and the Middle East. During this time he spent a year seconded to King’s College London as a Research Fellow, working on a UK-funded project in support of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and remains a Visiting Senior Research Fellow with The Policy Institute at King’s. He holds a Masters in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge and a Postgraduate Certificate in Systems Engineering from Cranfield University.
Bruno Tertrais
Bruno Tertrais is the Deputy Director of the Foundation for Strategic Research (Fondation pour la recherche stratégique, FRS), a non-profit organization and the main French center of expertise on international security and defence issues. Between 2001-2016 he was a Senior Research Fellow at the FRS. Previously, he served as the Assistant to the Director of Strategic Affairs at the French Defence Ministry (1993-2001) and as the Director of the Civilian Affairs Committee of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (1990-1992). He was also a Visiting Fellow at RAND Corporation between 1995-1996. He has published widely on his areas of expertise, which include international relations and geopolitics, conflicts, US strategy, transatlantic relations, security in the Middle East and in Asia, nuclear proliferation, nuclear deterrence and military strategy. Bruno Tertrais is also a member of the editorial board of The Washington Quarterly and Strategic and Military Affairs. He holds a PhD from the Paris Political Science Institute.