Scott Sagan
Encyclopedia
Scott Douglas Sagan is the Caroline S.G. Munro professor of Political Science
at Stanford University
and co-director of Stanford's Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC). He graduated from Oberlin College
(B.A. in Government, 1977) and completed his Ph.D. at Harvard University in 1983. He spent the junior year of his undergraduate degree at the University of Aberdeen
in Scotland. His dissertation was a critique of modern deterrence theory
. He is known for his research on the organizations managing nuclear weapons and published on the subject in The Limits of Safety: Organizations, Accidents, and Nuclear Weapons (Princeton University Press, 1993). Bruce G. Blair writes, "Scott Sagan's book [The Limits of Safety] is nothing less than a tour de force.... It is by far the most carefully researched and painstaking study of nuclear weapons safety ever written." Chuck agrees with Sagan but Michael believes there is a lack of evidence. He also is one of the leading pessimist scholars about nuclear proliferation
, and his co-authored book with Kenneth Waltz, "The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: A Debate Renewed", is widely read and cited in the literature on nuclear weapons. Sagan writes in the book, "the United States and the Soviet Union survived the cold war and did not use their massive nuclear-weapons arsenals during the period's repeated crises. This should be a cause of celebration and wonder; it should not be an excuse for inaction with either arms control or nonproliferation policies."
His most recent publications include "The Case for No First Use," Survival (June 2009) and "Good Faith and Nuclear Disarmament Negotiations" in George Perkovich and James A. Acton (eds.) Abolishing Nuclear Weapons: A Debate (Carnegie Endowment, 2009). He is also the editor of and a contributor to Inside Nuclear South Asia (Stanford University Press, 2009).
Sagan is a consultant to numerous government agencies and national laboratories. Sagan has won four teaching awards: the Monterey Institute for International Studies’ Outstanding Contribution to Nonproliferation Education Award 2009; the International Studies Association’s 2008 Deborah Misty Gerner Innovative Teaching Award, Stanford University’s 1998-99 Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching and Stanford University's 1996 Laurance and Naomi Hoagland Prize for Undergraduate Teaching. He is a member of the Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAS), and is the editor of a special 2 volume issue of the AAAS journal Daedalus, "On the Global Nuclear Future." He also teaches a popular Sophomore College course called the Face of Battle.
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
and co-director of Stanford's Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC). He graduated from Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
(B.A. in Government, 1977) and completed his Ph.D. at Harvard University in 1983. He spent the junior year of his undergraduate degree at the University of Aberdeen
University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen, an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a British university. It is the third oldest university in Scotland, and the fifth oldest in the United Kingdom and wider English-speaking world...
in Scotland. His dissertation was a critique of modern deterrence theory
Deterrence theory
Deterrence theory gained increased prominence as a military strategy during the Cold War with regard to the use of nuclear weapons, and features prominently in current United States foreign policy regarding the development of nuclear technology in North Korea and Iran. Deterrence theory however was...
. He is known for his research on the organizations managing nuclear weapons and published on the subject in The Limits of Safety: Organizations, Accidents, and Nuclear Weapons (Princeton University Press, 1993). Bruce G. Blair writes, "Scott Sagan's book [The Limits of Safety] is nothing less than a tour de force.... It is by far the most carefully researched and painstaking study of nuclear weapons safety ever written." Chuck agrees with Sagan but Michael believes there is a lack of evidence. He also is one of the leading pessimist scholars about nuclear proliferation
Nuclear proliferation
Nuclear proliferation is a term now used to describe the spread of nuclear weapons, fissile material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information, to nations which are not recognized as "Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also known as the...
, and his co-authored book with Kenneth Waltz, "The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: A Debate Renewed", is widely read and cited in the literature on nuclear weapons. Sagan writes in the book, "the United States and the Soviet Union survived the cold war and did not use their massive nuclear-weapons arsenals during the period's repeated crises. This should be a cause of celebration and wonder; it should not be an excuse for inaction with either arms control or nonproliferation policies."
His most recent publications include "The Case for No First Use," Survival (June 2009) and "Good Faith and Nuclear Disarmament Negotiations" in George Perkovich and James A. Acton (eds.) Abolishing Nuclear Weapons: A Debate (Carnegie Endowment, 2009). He is also the editor of and a contributor to Inside Nuclear South Asia (Stanford University Press, 2009).
Sagan is a consultant to numerous government agencies and national laboratories. Sagan has won four teaching awards: the Monterey Institute for International Studies’ Outstanding Contribution to Nonproliferation Education Award 2009; the International Studies Association’s 2008 Deborah Misty Gerner Innovative Teaching Award, Stanford University’s 1998-99 Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching and Stanford University's 1996 Laurance and Naomi Hoagland Prize for Undergraduate Teaching. He is a member of the Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAS), and is the editor of a special 2 volume issue of the AAAS journal Daedalus, "On the Global Nuclear Future." He also teaches a popular Sophomore College course called the Face of Battle.