With the New START Treaty between the United States and Russia set to expire in February 2026 and no successor in sight, the world is sliding into a nuclear environment with degraded transparency, few limits on strategic offensive arms, and brittle crisis communications. Add the spread of rapidly evolving emerging technologies, the erosion of arms-control verification norms, and hedging by key regional actors, and it is increasingly clear that deterrence is getting riskier and arms control is getting harder.

The CISS annual conference seeks to explore the strategic dimensions of nuclear statecraft, and what practical steps the U.S. and other allied states can take to reduce nuclear risk while maintaining deterrence in a world where formal treaties may be dead or dormant. The conference convenes U.S. and allied former officials, technologists, practitioners, and scholars to discuss these topics timed around New START’s expiration.

Day 1:

Paul Dean will deliver the keynote address at the CISS annual conference "Beyond New START: Navigating the Next Era of Nuclear Statecraft." Dean is the Vice President of the Global Nuclear Policy Program at the Nuclear Threat Initiative. Until 2025, Dean was the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Deterrence, and Stability. He served concurrently, by presidential designation, as the U.S. commissioner to the U.S.-Russia Bilateral Consultative Commission, the implementation body for the New START Treaty.

Following the keynote address, Dean will engage in a moderated keynote conversation. A public reception with conference speakers will follow.