Citizen Scientist: Frank von Hippel’s Adventures in Nuclear Arms Control PART 7. The Obama Administration, Iran, Foundations, and the Next Generation

Abstract

The achievements in nuclear reductions during the Obama Administration were modest, in part because of waning public pressure. But the nuclear deal with Iran was important. Thanks in part to a former senior Iranian diplomat, Hossein Mousavian, joining Princeton’s Program on Science and Global Security in 2010, the Program was able to make two significant technical contributions to that deal. The discussion then turns to the importance of foundation support for policy research in the United States, the necessary ingredients for successful policy activism, including working with citizens’ groups, the role of the Program in training the next generation of activist technical-policy analysts, and a new initiative to engage more US physicists to help educate the public and Congress about the continuing dangers from nuclear weapons and about policy options for reducing those dangers.