By René Geiser. China’s nuclear expansion and global nuclear order The expansion of China's nuclear arsenal has increased significantly in recent years. Forecasts by the US Department of Defence assume that China could have over 1,000 operational nuclear warheads by 2030. This represents a significant expansion compared to the ‘minimum nuclear deterrent’ that China has traditionally pursued. While China used to strive for a small but survivable nuclear arsenal, the current modernization signals a possible shift in the balance of power. Through

By Neslihan Yanikömer and Irmgard Niemeyer. On September 18, members of the research consortium VeSPoTec, Dr. Irmgard Niemeyer and Dr. Neslihan Yanikömer, hold a side event on hosted by Germany during the 68th IAEA General Conference (September 16–20, 2024). The event, titled “Navigating Crisis Scenarios in Safeguards Implementation,” assembled an expert panel to discuss strengthening IAEA safeguards in the face of crises such as armed conflicts, natural disasters, and pandemics. Nearly 50 attendees participated in this discussion on a pressing

By Lukas Rademacher. „Meeting the Moment: Nuclear Stewardship in an Age of New Technology and Global Tensions” – under this motto technical experts in the nuclear field came together at this year’s annual meeting of the Institute for Nuclear Materials Management (INMM). Although the CrowdStrike outage made attendance more difficult than expected for many, the conference nevertheless brought together more than 600 participants from around the world in Portland, Oregon. For five days (July 21-25), they discussed how nuclear safety and security can