PUBLICATIONS

Through its publications, INSS aims to provide expert insights, cutting-edge research, and innovative solutions that contribute to shaping the national security discourse and preparing the next generation of leaders in the field.

 

Publications

Results:
Tag: biological weapons

Cover of a report titled “A Framework for Biological Weapons Deterrence.” The design features blue circular graphics with the word “UNCLASSIFIED” at the top and bottom. The subtitle reads: Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction, Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University, August 2025. Two photos appear on the cover: one shows emergency responders wearing bright yellow hazmat suits standing near a fire truck; the other shows a U.S. Army soldier in uniform examining a sample through a laboratory microscope. A disclaimer notes that the views expressed are those of the authors and not official U.S. government policy. Logos for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, National Defense University, and the Institute for National Strategic Studies appear at the bottom.

March 16, 2026

A Framework for Biological Weapons Deterrence

The United States and its allies and partners face a rapidly expanding array of biothreats, to include the potential employment of increasingly sophisticated and lethal biological weapons (BW).

DNA strand

Dec. 8, 2025

Artificial Intelligence: A Double-Edged Sword in Support and Subversion of the Biological Weapons Convention Part One: Framing the Issues

The recent announcement that artificial intelligence (AI) will be employed to surveille and support compliance with the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) reflects both the capabilities for data collection, integration and analysis that such systems enable, and the iterative integration of AI within biodefense ecologies and operations.

WOTR

Sept. 16, 2021

A Weapon of Mass Destruction Strategy for the 21st Century

In a recent article in War on the Rocks, CSWMD Expert Consultant, Dr. Seth Carus, and colleagues explore how the U.S. government should, through the National Security Council, formulate a unified strategy that addresses the changing character of, and challenges posed by, WMD. That strategy should align current and future national security capabilities in order to prevent the proliferation of such weapons and discourage adversaries from using them to harm the United States, allied nations, and broader American national security interests.

The Soviet Biological Weapons Program and Its Legacy in Today’s Russia

July 18, 2016

The Soviet Biological Weapons Program and Its Legacy in Today’s Russia

In its first Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Case Study, the Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction (CSWMD) at the National Defense University examined President Richard M. Nixon’s decision, on November 25, 1969, to terminate the U.S. offensive biological weapons program.1 This occasional paper seeks to explain why the Soviet

In Good Health? The Biological Weapons Convention and the “Medicalization” of Security

Nov. 3, 2015

In Good Health? The Biological Weapons Convention and the “Medicalization” of Security

Since the 1990s, the group of stakeholders working to combat biological weapons (BW) proliferation has broadened to include new actors who have not traditionally focused on security issues, including organizations from the public health sector, researchers in the life sciences, and the biosafety community. This has had significant benefits for the