The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), established in 1989, also known as the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, is a research and training center dedicated to addressing the global challenges posed by nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. It is the largest nongovernmental organization in the United States focused exclusively on nonproliferation issues. Its mission is to educate and train future generations of specialists in nonproliferation, and to provide timely analysis and information to support policy and research efforts. After a large endowment gift in 2007 by James Martin, CNS was renamed in his honor. The headquarters of CNS is at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, in Monterey, California. In addition, CNS oversees the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation in Vienna, Austria, and also maintains a significant presence at its offices in Washington, D.C., to facilitate engagement with policymakers, international organizations, and other stakeholders. CNS also publishes the Nonproliferation Review and NonPro Notes. In August 1998, CNS established the Newly Independent States Representative Office (NISRO) offices in Almaty, Kazakhstan, which was closed in 2009. On August 26th, 2025, CNS announced that it would open new offices on the main Middlebury College campus in Vermont. The next day, on August 27th, the President of Middlebury College announced the closure of MIIS and that all academic programs at the institute would conclude sometime in July 2027. CNS, however, as a "self-sustaining center", will remain open in Monterey, and under the umbrella of Middlebury College after 2027.
History William C. "Bill" Potter was originally trained as a specialist on the Soviet Union, and in 1982 authored his first book, Nuclear Power and Nonproliferation, on the technological, economic, and political dimensions of nuclear nonproliferation. His research drew attention to similarities in Soviet and United States approaches to nuclear export controls and nonproliferation policy, as well as to the areas of cooperation that developed between the two states despite their rivalry during the Cold War. By the time of the Dissolution of the Soviet Union, Potter, at that time the director of the graduate school involved in Eurasian and Soviet studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS), was among the few scholars with expertise both in Soviet affairs and in the challenges posed by the spread of nuclear weapons. In the time leading up to the Dissolution, Potter became increasingly concerned about the security of nuclear weapons and related materials. Potter, and many of his fellow global security scholars at the time, were predicting a collapse of the entire soviet economy. When that happened, they greatly feared that nuclear materials would both be available on a black market, and that if new states were created, they might each have access to fissile materials and nuclear weapons. Potter saw the need to address the academic and policy perspectives surrounding the study of proliferation and the advancement of nonproliferation. Potter's primary motivation was in response to what he viewed as a lack of systematic, open-source research on proliferation. At the time, while conducting studies on international nuclear commerce, Potter noted that even researchers at the United States national laboratories were often unable to answer basic questions about nuclear trade. He argued that even though large amounts of relevant information were available in open sources and specialized trade publications, this material was rarely collected or analyzed in a systematic way. CNS opened in 1989 with a small staff and limited resources, operating out of two offices with an initial budget of $35,000, becoming in the process one of the first academic institutions in the United States to focus exclusively on issues of nonproliferation. Over the following decade, CNS expanded significantly, establishing itself as the only institution in the United States to offer a graduate certificate program in nonproliferation studies. By bringing together students, government officials, and researchers from around the world, the center sought to advance education and research on WMD's while contributing to international security.
Structure By the early 2000s, CNS was organized into five research programs:
Chemical and Biological Weapons Program East Asia Nonproliferation Program International Organization and Nonproliferation Program Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorism Research Program Newly Independent States Nonproliferation Program The programs have changed, both due to budgetary constraints and due to evolving realities in nonproliferation. For example, the term "NIS" to mean a Newly Independent State has become largely outdated, and especially for those states in Central Asia, the geographical preference is to refer to the regional names. As of 2025, the programs of CNS are structured as;
Chemical & Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Program (CBWNP), Director Allison Berke East Asia Nonproliferation Program (EANP), Director Jeffrey Lewis Eurasia Nonproliferation Program (ENP), Director Hanna Notte Export Control and Nonproliferation Program (XNP), Director Robert Shaw International Organizations & Nonproliferation Program (IONP), Director Gaukhar Mukhatzhanova Middle East Nonproliferation Program, Director Chen Kane Nonproliferation Education Program, Director Juan du Preez
Publications and databases
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