Project Description

The Strengthening the Global Partnership project is a CSIS-led consortium of 24 research institutes in 19 European, Asian, and North American countries working to build political and financial support for G8 efforts to reduce the dangers from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, beginning in the former Soviet Union. Although international cooperation has significantly reduced these dangers since the end of the Cold War, the task of eliminating them is far from complete. The risk that materials or weapons of mass destruction (WMD) will fall into terrorist hands remains alarmingly high.

In recognition of the magnitude of this threat, leaders of the Group of Eight Nations (G8) announced the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons of Mass Destruction at their Kananaskis summit in June 2002. Participants—the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, and Canada—pledged to raise up to USD $20 billion over the next 10 years to combat the threat of WMD. Additionally, the G8 leaders agreed on a comprehensive set of nonproliferation principles and a specific set of guidelines designed to standardize and streamline the implementation of nonproliferation projects. The G8 also invited other non-G8 countries to join the Global Partnership.

Meeting the ambitious goals of the G8 Global Partnership will require a significant international commitment of political will and financial resources. The Strengthening the Global Partnership project seeks to build that support by raising awareness of the WMD threat and creating a transnational coalition in support of increased and improved nonproliferation assistance. To date, the project has published a four-volume report that identifies gaps in existing threat reduction programs, recommends future programmatic priorities, and proposes coordination mechanisms to improve the effectiveness of further efforts. This is the first time that experts from so many nations have reached consensus on specific steps to secure, account for, and safely dispose of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, agents, materials, and infrastructure in Russia and the former Soviet states.

Currently, the consortium is working to publicize the findings of this report and to encourage ministries and parliaments to adopt and implement the recommendations. Toward this end, each organizational partner conducts outreach activities in its own country to inform decision-makers and to foster further support for threat reduction. Project partners regularly meet and communicate in order to pool insights and experiences for the benefit of the project as a whole. The project’s ultimate goal is to ensure sustained financial support for and effective implementation of the G8 Global Partnership.

The Nuclear Threat Initiative is the primary sponsor of the project, which began in late 2001.

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Consortium Partners

The Consortium Partners are comprised of 24 think tanks in 19 countries around the world, in Europe, Asia and North America.

The full list of Consortium Partners is available here.

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Strengthening the Global Partnership Experts

Our experts directory contains contact and biographical information on individuals who lend their expertise and analysis to the project.

The full list of Experts is available here.

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CSIS Project Staff