SUMMARY

“The pandemic has revealed a gross lack of preparedness and a weak response of nuclear-armed states to a global crisis that has implications far beyond health security.” – Dr. Salma Shaheen.

Some of the world’s nuclear-armed states continue to demonstrate inaccurate threat perceptions, inefficient planning, and failed attempts to combat the COVID 19 pandemic — how then can these countries, who have built the world’s deadliest weapons, perform in de-escalating a nuclear crisis? In our latest paper release, Dr. Salma Shaheen, stresses the importance of establishing new norms, constructing new practices, and securing reliant communications between nuclear-armed states before a potential crisis. Shaheen reaffirms the need for a direct communication link between global leaders to facilitate quick and efficient communications between nuclear-armed states — a capability she cites as essential for escalation control and nuclear weapons reduction, with a direct impact on crisis aversion and thus global security.