The slides/other material kindly provided by the lecturers can be downloaded clicking on the presentation title or lecturers name evidenced in dark yellow.
Sunday January 11, 2026
Arrival and Registration
Monday, January 12, 2026
09:00 – 09:30 Session 1
Introduction
Carlo Schaerf – Director of ISODARCO
Francesca Giovannini – Co-Director of the 64th course
09:30 – 11:00 Session 2 Chair: Giuseppina Orlandini
Fundamentals of Nuclear Strategy
Steven E. Miller – Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
16:30 – 18:00 Session 3 Chair: Diego Latella
International Context: Ukraine
Polina Sinovets – Center for Non-Proliferation, Odesa I.I. Mechnikov National University, Odesa
18:15 – 19:45 Session 4 Chair: Jingdong Yuan
International Context: The Middle East
Ariel Levite – Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington D.C.
21:30 – 23:00 Session 5 Chair: Mieke Massink
Current US Nuclear Policy
Vipin Narang – MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Tuesday January 13, 2026
09:00 – 10:30 Session 6 Chair: Marco De Andreis
Russia’s Nuclear Doctrine and Policy
Alexey Arbatov – Institute for World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow
16:30 – 18:00 Session 7 Chair: Mirco Elena
Chinese Nuclear Policy and Strategy
Jingdong Yuan – SIPRI, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
18:15 – 19:45 Session 8 Chair: Alexey Arbatov
Diamond Jubilee Lecture The role of leading scientists in reducing nuclear dangers 1945-2025
John Holdren – Harvard University
21:30 PARTY
Wednesday January 14, 2026
09:00 – 10:30 Session 9 Chair: Sibylle Bauer
Nuclear Weapons in South Asia
Manpreet Sethi – Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi
Tariq Rauf – Pugwash Council
Group visit to Trento, the Buonconsiglio Castle, and the exhibition Winter in Art
16:30 – 18:00 Session 10 Chair: Alexander Nikitin
Coping with the North Korean Bomb
Ankit Panda – Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington, D.C.
18:15 – 19:45 Session 11 Chair: Mariana Budjeryn
The Endless Iran Nuclear Crisis
Ali Vaez – International Crisis Group
21:30 – 23:00 Session 12 Chair: Alessandro Pascolini
Post-Conflict Options for European Security and Arms Control
Nadia Arbatova – IMEMO, Institute for World Economy and International Relations, Moscow
Thursday January 15, 2026
09:00 – 10:30 Session 13 Chair: Ariel Levite
Advanced Technology and Strategic Stability
Sybille Bauer – SIPRI, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
10:30 Group Picture
11:00 Extra Activity n.1
Seminar: Towards a stronger French contribution to European nuclear deterrence?
Coordinated by Héloise Fayet (IFRI, University of Paris 8)
16:30 – 18:00 Session 14 Chair: Carlo Trezza
Space Warfare in the 21st Century
Steve Fetter – University of Maryland
18:15 – 19:45 Session 15 Chair: Laura Rockwood
Trade wars and the global economy
Stefano Schiavo – University of Trento
21:30 – 23:00 Session 16
Interactive Forecasting Exercise
Kseniia Pirnavskaia – Open Nuclear Network, a Pax Sapiens Program, Vienna
Friday January 16, 2026
09:00 – 10:30 Session 17 Chair: Massimo Morichi
Missile Defense and Technologies
Dmitri Stefanovich – Institute for World Economy and International Relations, Moscow
11:00 Extra Activity n.2
Seminar: Africa and the Nuclear World – Past, present and future
Coordinated by Pablo José Pérez Canavate (IMSISS, International Master in Security, Intelligence, and Strategic Studies, Erasmus Mundus; AFRICSIS, African Center for Science and International Security, Accra)
14:30 Extra Activity n.3
Seminar/Open discussion: Security Perceptions in the Indian Ocean
Coordinated by Alexey Kuprianov, Alina Vernigora, Dmitry Stefanovich (IMEMO, Russia)
16:30 – 18:00 Session 18 Chair: Steve Fetter
The Weaponization of Nuclear Energy
Mariana Budjeryn – Center for Nuclear Security Policy, MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
18:15 – 19:45 Session 19 Chair: Polina Sinovets
The Non-proliferation Regime
Laura Rockwood – Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation
21:30 – 23:30 Session 20 Chair: John Holdren
The Urgency of Nuclear Disarmament
Tariq Rauf – Pugwash Council
Saturday January 17, 2026
09:00 – 10:30 Session 21 Chair: Ankit Panda
Nuclear Dynamics and Geopolitical Flux
Francesca Giovannini – Project on Managing the Atom
10:30 – 12:00 Session 22
Course Evaluation and Suggestions
Carlo Schaerf, Steven E. Miller, Francesca Giovannini, Poul Christiansen
12:00 Course ends
Sunday January 18, 2026
06:00 Bus departs for Milan Airports