Insure to Assure: A New Paradigm for Nuclear Nonproliferation and International Security

Abstract

nuclear proliferation to cause such a disaster, can private market mechanisms such as insurance be structured to help avoid the disaster itself? Until recently, few world leaders or thinkers would have pegged the accelerating rhythm of large-scale catastrophes as one of the greatest economic and social challenges confronting society. But one hallmark of this new century will be more and more such unthinkable events, previously unseen contexts, and pressure for individuals, private companies, and government authorities to react extremely quickly, even when they cannot predict the cascading impact their actions will have. And we must think beyond financial crises: what about food security, intercontinental pandemics, mega-terrorism, and cyber attacks? Think about global warming, and large-scale natural disasters, as well as new types of war, international security issues, and—as this article addresses—nuclear proliferation. We will face more of the same mega-crises in the future, as well as brand new ones. Dealing with an average of one or two such catastrophes every 20 years is one thing; dealing with 10 or 15 on many different fronts simultaneously, as is currently occurring, is a whole different game. This poses a real challenge: how do we think col-