Shared Risk, Shared Responsibility: Lessons from Canada on Global WMD Threat Reduction

The norms holding back the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction are under pressure from every direction: The use of chemical weapons has been documented on the battlefield in Ukraine, the full scope of the former Assad regime’s chemical weapons program in Syria is still being investigated, and global attention is focused on Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile. Particularly at the nexus of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) security, rapid developments in disruptive technologies present heightened risks requiring deft management that does not jeopardize the many beneficial opportunities these technologies offer. Canada has been a leading member of the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction since the initiative’s founding nearly 25 years ago. Join the Stimson Center for a conversation that takes stock of that record: the lessons learned, the gaps exposed, and the hard questions about what allied burden-sharing in weapons of mass destruction threat reduction must look like in an era when the old assurances no longer hold.