William Potter

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

• Waiting for Godot at the 2026 NPT Review Conference Review
  Some meetings of nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) member states are remembered for artistic performances as well as nonproliferation and disarmament achievements.
• CNS Expands with New Vermont Office
  The office will also support teaching and research collaboration with Middlebury faculty.
• Treaty Simulation Course Builds Negotiating Skills
  It’s unique among Middlebury Institute courses: students devote an entire semester to simulating an international treaty negotiation—stepping into the shoes of an international diplomat for hours each week.
• CNS Director Potter Participates in Nobel Peace Prize Activities
  CNS Director Bill Potter participated in a panel at the Nobel Peace Prize Forum in Oslo, Norway on December 11, 2024.
• Happy Holidays and Happy New Year 2024
  My CNS colleagues and I wish you a peaceful and joyous New Year.
• A Message from CNS Director Bill Potter
  My warm wishes to you for a joyous holiday season.
• CNS Celebrates its 35th Anniversary
  CNS celebrated its 35th anniversary at a gala reception at the Tabard Inn in Washington, DC on October 21.
• Under-Secretary Bonnie Jenkins Keynotes CNS Meeting
  The CNS International Advisory Council met in Washington, DC on October 21st for its annual meeting.
• Ambassador Richard’s Speech Highlights CNS’ Impact on Nonproliferation
  Ambassador Shorna-Kay M. Richards spread a message of urgency to address a myriad of global problems but also one of hope.
• Diplomats Gather in Annecy France for NPT Workshop
  Over five dozen senior diplomats gathered in Annecy, France on March 7-8, 2024 for an NPT diplomatic workshop hosted by CNS.

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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.