Episode 12: China's Nuclear Modernization with Dr. Fiona Cunningham

In this episode of Machiavelli in the Ivory Tower, hosts Sarah and Hanna speak with Fiona Cunningham, an assistant professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania. They discuss China's current nuclear modernization, how it manifests, what might be driving it, how to study and analyze it - and what US policymakers should do about it.

Topics discussed:

1. China's Nuclear Modernization: Increases in size, readiness, accuracy and diversity
2. China's Nuclear Modernization: Motivations
3. China's push for a treaty of no-first-use of nuclear weapons
4. China's ICBM test in late September 2024
5. How to study China's nuclear modernization
6. China and the concept of nuclear balance
7. Policy implications
8. How to bridge the gap between scholarship and policy