Avoiding nuclear anarchy : containing the threat of loose Russian nuclear weapons and fissile material / Graham T. Allison ... [and others].

Includes bibliographical references.

Ch. 1. Risks of Nuclear Leakage -- Ch. 2. Stakes: How Nuclear Leakage Threatens U.S. Interests -- Ch. 3. Response: Inadequacies of American Policy -- Ch. 4. The Challenge: A Response Commensurate with the Stakes -- Appendix A. The Russian Nuclear Archipelago / Owen R. Cote, Jr. -- Appendix B. A Primer on Fissile Materials and Nuclear Weapon Design / Owen R. Cote, Jr. -- Appendix C. The HEU Deal / Richard A. Falkenrath -- Map: The Russian Nuclear Archipelago -- About The Center for Science and International Affairs.

As the most open society on a shrinking planet, the United States has no reliable defense against smuggled weapons fashioned from black-market materials by a determined state or terrorist group. Avoiding Nuclear Anarchy highlights the fact that the only way to combat the threat is by preventing nuclear leakage in the first place. Its message is both timely and urgent: it outlines the new nuclear danger and details how to reshape U.S. national security policy to deal with these dangers.