2021 Banners WKEstes
Charles L. Glaser, George Washington University, received the 2021 William and Katherine Estes Award.
Glaser has made important contributions to understanding feasible and desirable forms of nuclear arms control and ballistic missile defense in light of a constantly evolving technological frontier. Glaser’s work has been influential for its combination of theoretical rigor with a strong appreciation for the technical aspects of nuclear weapons policy.
Notably, Glaser conducts behavioral research relevant to the prevention of nuclear war. His research focuses on international relations theory and international security policy.
His founding work in understanding the complex strategic implications of policy options begins with analysis of the security dilemma concept, which posits that actions taken by a state to increase its own security can cause reactions from other states, which in turn lead to a decrease rather than an increase in the original state’s security. His work is notable for its careful analysis of strategic interactions between adversarial states, which he captures in contributions to the theory of defensive realism. This theory provides major insights on some of the most important and policy-relevant questions in the field, including the causes and consequences of arms races, the conditions under which states should compete and cooperate, and optimal nuclear strategies. In addition to his research on nuclear strategy, Glaser has analyzed U.S. policy toward China.
The William and Katherine Estes Award (formerly the NAS Award for Behavioral Research Relevant to the Prevention of Nuclear War) recognizes basic research in any field of cognitive or behavioral science that uses rigorous formal and empirical methods to advance our understanding of issues relating to the risk of nuclear war. This award was established by a gift of William and Katherine Estes and includes a $20,000 prize.
