An Arms Control Primer

The Arms Control, Treaty Verification, and Dismantlement Subcommittee has started the development of a primer and annotated bibliography. This primer will summarize the history of arms control, current treaties and their implementation, as well as possible future technical options, serving as an introductory resource and refresher for both technical and non-technical individuals. The goals of this activity are to create an arms control and treaty verification resource for members of all levels and experience, while simultaneously promoting a collaborative network of knowledgeable staff across the nuclear community. A summary of existing courses and training materials will be created to clarify where there are gaps for this effort to address and to identify where the ACTVD Primer should point to existing resources. An online tutorial will be written to include both arms control specific topics and ancillary material (i.e. overview of nuclear weapons) as needed. An annotated bibliography supporting a core set of materials will allow deeper study of specific topics. The work is planned to be as collaborative as possible, asking subject matter experts from across the community to participate. A secondary outcome of this effort is strengthening the network of people interested in different areas that fall under the ACTVD umbrella. The topics span technical and non-technical areas. One starting point is a History of Arms Control. Arms control did not start with the nuclear age. What kinds of agreements have existed before and why do countries enter into arms control agreements? Moving into the modern era an Overview of Arms Control and Nuclear Weapons will be provided covering Declarations, Nuclear Enterprises, Warhead Confirmation, and Dismantlement Verification. Specific treaties and development efforts and the issues they raise will be covered, though not in a comprehensive way. Instead, the most important ones will be discussed in addition to any that illustrate particular issues. Short summaries of past and current technical topics relevant to ACTVD will be included. The proposed poster will provide an outline of the project, examples of current materials, and information about the current status and ways to get involved.