Matthew Bunn
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matthew-bunn.bsky.social
Matthew Bunn
@matthew-bunn.bsky.social
620 followers 140 following 400 posts

Father, husband, citizen, professor, focusing mainly on nuclear weapons and nuclear energy issues. Faculty lead for Harvard's Managing the Atom project: www.belfercenter.org/programs/managing-atom
My website: matthewbunn.scholars.harvard.edu .. more

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Matthew Bunn is an American nuclear and energy policy analyst, currently a professor of practice at the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University. He is the Co-principal Investigator for the Belfer Center's Project on Managing the Atom. .. more

Political science 44%
Engineering 24%
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matthew-bunn.bsky.social
Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · Oct 23
Proud to have been part of 50 years of work to reduce the danger of nuclear war at the Harvard Kennedy School, detailed in this new account in the Kennedy School's magazine. The effort is more urgent and essential than ever. www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty-rese...
Inside the Kennedy School’s long fight to prevent nuclear catastrophe
For generations, the insights and engagement of Harvard Kennedy School scholars have strengthened nuclear strategies and reduced dangers.
www.hks.harvard.edu

matthew-bunn.bsky.social
Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 12h
You’re dating yourself! (As am I with this reply.)

Reposted by Matthew Bunn, David R. Miller

radiofreetom.bsky.social
Tom Nichols @radiofreetom.bsky.social · 13h
Hegseth, among others, is using the school as a punching bag to express the generic social anxiety and status-based resentment that drives much of the MAGA movement.

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Pete Hegseth’s Attack on Harvard
The anger at the Ivy League is about status envy, not war-fighting.
www.theatlantic.com

Reposted by Matthew Bunn

thestudyofwar.bsky.social
Institute for the Study of War @thestudyofwar.bsky.social · 13h
Applications for ISW's Summer 2026 Internship Program are open!

Interns will gain hands-on experience in research, open-source analysis, and communications while contributing directly to our mission in national security and conflict monitoring.

Apply now: https://isw.pub/SummerIntern26BS

Reposted by Matthew Bunn

markwarner.bsky.social
Senator Mark Warner @markwarner.bsky.social · 14h
DHS is holding children at an immigrant detention center with insufficient food and medicine.

These are not the criminals that Trump promised to get off our streets. These are children.

matthew-bunn.bsky.social
Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 14h
Focuses mainly on the approach the Trump team is taking. Full report: securityconference.org/assets/02_Do...
securityconference.org

matthew-bunn.bsky.social
Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 14h
The fact that the report for the Munich Security Conference is called "Under Destruction" says a lot. "The world has entered a period of wrecking-ball politics. Sweeping destruction – rather than careful reforms and policy corrections – is the order of the day," with int'l order "under destruction."

Reposted by Matthew Bunn

nktpnd.bsky.social
Ankit Panda @nktpnd.bsky.social · 15h
Pleased to see 'THE NEW NUCLEAR AGE' recommended in this year's Munich Security Report 'Under Destruction' securityconference.org/assets/02_Do...

Reposted by Kori Schake, Matthew Bunn

davidsterman.bsky.social
David Sterman @davidsterman.bsky.social · 15h
Major Somalia strikes update.

Our data now has a fully accounted for and confirmed strike count for Jan 2026 and to date. 26 strikes in Jan and 28 to date.

This includes two strikes w/o press release (1/20 and 1/26) and clarification of all multiple strikes.

www.newamerica.org/future-secur...

Reposted by Matthew Bunn

fredmkaplan.bsky.social
Fred Kaplan @fredmkaplan.bsky.social · 15h
The idiocy of Hegseth cutting DoD's ties with Harvard (and, by the way, does he know Gen Caine, the JCS chairman, went to Harvard's Kennedy School?) slate.com/news-and-pol...
Pete Hegseth Is Being Even Dumber Than Usual
The secretary of defense just revealed that he fundamentally misunderstands what war is.
slate.com

Reposted by Matthew Bunn

johncarlbaker.bsky.social
John Carl Baker @johncarlbaker.bsky.social · 16h
"By 48% to 28%, Americans are more likely to oppose than support the U.S. taking military action in Iran" today.yougov.com/politics/art...
U.S. military intervention in Iran has little support but half of Americans think it's likely to happen soon | YouGov
More Americans oppose than support U.S. military intervention in Iran. Few are confident that protests will succeed in overthrowing the Iranian government and many believe the U.S. military is likely ...
today.yougov.com

matthew-bunn.bsky.social
Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 17h
The difference between zero enrichment in Iran and a couple of thousand centrifuges in Iran is quite modest, since Iran has shown the ability to install almost that many in a month. Some compromise there would be better than going back to military strikes, with all their risks and uncertainties.
johncarlbaker.bsky.social John Carl Baker @johncarlbaker.bsky.social · 18h
Iranian Foreign Minister:

"Zero enrichment can never be accepted by us. Hence, we need to focus on discussions that accept enrichment inside Iran while building trust that enrichment is and will stay for peaceful purposes." www.reuters.com/world/middle...
Iran insists on right to enrichment, ready for confidence-building
Recognition of Iran's right to enrich uranium is key for nuclear talks with the U.S. to succeed, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Sunday.
www.reuters.com

Reposted by Matthew Bunn

johncarlbaker.bsky.social
John Carl Baker @johncarlbaker.bsky.social · 18h
Iranian Foreign Minister:

"Zero enrichment can never be accepted by us. Hence, we need to focus on discussions that accept enrichment inside Iran while building trust that enrichment is and will stay for peaceful purposes." www.reuters.com/world/middle...
Iran insists on right to enrichment, ready for confidence-building
Recognition of Iran's right to enrich uranium is key for nuclear talks with the U.S. to succeed, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Sunday.
www.reuters.com

Reposted by Nandita Sharma, Matthew Bunn, Steve Peers , and 17 more

reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 18h
ICE has now spent over half a BILLION dollars just on purchasing warehouses around the country to convert into detention camps.

If these mega-camps are utilized to the full capacity ICE intends, they'll be the largest prisons in the country, with little real oversight. www.ajc.com/politics/202...
ICE to begin detaining immigrants inside Social Circle warehouse in April
Homeland Security plans to build warehouse detention facilities in other cities being met with opposition.
www.ajc.com

matthew-bunn.bsky.social
Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 20h
Leading a discussion of the expiration of New START and what happens next at Managing the Atom, 1:30-3:00 today (Feb. 9). Take part if you're interested!
harvard.zoom.us/j/9102746884...

matthew-bunn.bsky.social
Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 20h
ICYMI: NYT overview of the expiration of New START, with a brief quote from yours truly (and quotes from many others): www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/u...
Nuclear Arms Control Era Comes to End Amid Global Rush for New Weapons
www.nytimes.com

matthew-bunn.bsky.social
Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 1d
Boy, I wish I thought he was right about nothing stopping the march of truth…
wellerstein.bsky.social Alex Wellerstein @wellerstein.bsky.social · 1d
"Truth is on the march and nothing will stop it. He who suffers for truth and justice becomes august and sacred. ...There is no justice but in truth; there is no happiness but in justice." – Émile Zola
Lyndon in front of a statue quoting the French writer Émile Zola, near the Zola metro station, Paris: "La verite est en marche et rien ne l’arretera. Qui souffre pour la verite et la justice devient auguste et sacre. ...Il n’est de justice que dans le verite il n’est bonheur que dans la justice."

Reposted by Matthew Bunn

olivermeier.bsky.social
Oliver Meier @olivermeier.bsky.social · 1d
"There is consensus among European countries that #NewSTART has worked in Europe’s favor. Russia’s war in Ukraine has deepened most European leaders’ preference to see continued commitment by US and Russia to limit nuclear deployments rather than no agreement, I told @cfr.org here:
is.gd/4Pf9WL
Europe Faces Uncertainty as New START Ends | Council on Foreign Relations
Confronted with the expiration of New START, Europe braces for a world without arms control. The loss of the traditional U.S. nuclear shield and Russia’s continued threats now force Europe to consider...
is.gd

Reposted by Matthew Bunn

wellerstein.bsky.social
Alex Wellerstein @wellerstein.bsky.social · 1d
"Truth is on the march and nothing will stop it. He who suffers for truth and justice becomes august and sacred. ...There is no justice but in truth; there is no happiness but in justice." – Émile Zola
Lyndon in front of a statue quoting the French writer Émile Zola, near the Zola metro station, Paris: "La verite est en marche et rien ne l’arretera. Qui souffre pour la verite et la justice devient auguste et sacre. ...Il n’est de justice que dans le verite il n’est bonheur que dans la justice."

Reposted by Matthew Bunn

herzogsm.bsky.social
Stephen Herzog @herzogsm.bsky.social · 2d
1/4

As the Trump administration’s “What about China?” nuclear arms control agenda for a New START follow-on unfolds, here’s a 2020 throwback. @thebulletin.org

Link here: doi.org/10.1080/0096...

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt

matthew-bunn.bsky.social
Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 2d
Pete Hegseth's decision to end all military education and fellowships at Harvard is bad for the military, as well as bad for Harvard. I'm proud to say many of my former fellows are making big contributions to the U.S. military -- helped by their time at Harvard.
x.com

matthew-bunn.bsky.social
Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 2d
Reply with actionable steps folks can take -- organizations to support, ways to volunteer, etc.

matthew-bunn.bsky.social
Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 2d
It's all hands on deck for everyone who wants a free and fair 2026 election -- Ds, Rs, independents. We need to work together against all the means MAGA will use to tilt the scale. Useful David French piece on 2 important ideas -- but there are many more. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/o...
Opinion | A Law That Might Just Save the Midterms
www.nytimes.com

matthew-bunn.bsky.social
Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 3d
Ankit Panda has a useful piece out on the accusation about Chinese nuclear testing. panda.substack.com/p/china-us-i...
China, U.S. Intelligence, and Nuclear Weapons Testing
Parsing out a new, specific U.S. claim.
panda.substack.com

matthew-bunn.bsky.social
Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 3d
Of course, if the tests of concern are larger, that's another story. The NAS study provides a useful discussion of the potential value of tests of different sizes in Table 4-3. p. 116.

Reposted by Richard Weitz

matthew-bunn.bsky.social
Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 3d
Full text: www.nationalacademies.org/publications...
The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty: Technical Issues for the United States 2012
This report reviews and updates the 2002 National Research Council report, Technical Issues Related to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). T...
www.nationalacademies.org

matthew-bunn.bsky.social
Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 3d
Re: US charges that China and Russia may have carried out very small "supercritical" nuclear tests, it's worth remembering that the 2012 NAS CTBT report said "we have
been unable to identify any significant advantage that could accrue to a State testing at these very low levels (<1 ton)." (p. 104)

matthew-bunn.bsky.social
Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 3d
DiNanno's accusation that China violated the CTBT with a yield-producing test on June 22 of 2020 will be a headline from his remarks. If the evidence was clear-cut, the 4/25 compliance report presumably would have expressed more than vague "concerns" about whether Russia and China were complying.
baklitskiy.bsky.social Andrey Baklitskiy @baklitskiy.bsky.social · 4d
Pretty strong accusation against China on testing. Does this mean the US is now going to have a "yield producing nuclear test" (6 years later?)? Will the US release any supporting evidence?
baklitskiy.bsky.social Andrey Baklitskiy @baklitskiy.bsky.social · 4d
UnderSecT DiNanno: "China has used decoupling method to decrease the effectiveness of seismic monitoring to hide their activities from the world. China conducted one such yield producing nuclear tests on June 22 of 2020"

matthew-bunn.bsky.social
Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 3d
With no limits, it appears that the United States and Russia will both begin increasing their force levels -- which may lead to even further Chinese expansion. Once those buildups are underway, it will be more difficult to reach deals to limit them.

matthew-bunn.bsky.social
Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 3d
A "strategic pause" of a year or two or three would have offered time for talks, without interfering with long-term U.S. security options. thehill.com/opinion/nati...
thehill.com

matthew-bunn.bsky.social
Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 3d
Rubio is wrong to say "the choice before the United States was to bind itself unilaterally or to recognize that a new era requires a new approach." The choice was whether BOTH Russia and the United States should stay within the limits while we explored options for new approaches.