Great Decisions Meeting

Wednesday, September 9, 2026
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Pioneer Bank

Topic: Ruptured Alliances and the Threat of Nuclear Proliferation

Speaker: Alan Carlson (in-person)

Alan Carlson was a US Foreign Service Officer from 1987 until his retirement in 2012. In 1991, he was the State representative to the US delegation to the LTBT (PTBT) Amendment Conference with the aim of reaching an agreement on a CTBT. He drafted the initial White House Reports to Congress On Progress Toward Regional Nonproliferation in South Asia in 1993-1994 (Second Report). He was Senior Advisor to the US Delegation to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva from 2007 to 2010. In that role, he served with the US negotiating team that concluded the New Start Treaty between the US and Russia. He was also with the international team of experts that inspected the closure and dismantlement of France’s nuclear weapons material production installation at Marcoule. In addition, Alan was an Advisor to the US Delegation to the 2008 Second Session of the Preparatory Committee of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.