Heather Williams
Heather Williams is the director of the Project on Nuclear Issues and a senior fellow in the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Prior to joining CSIS, she was a visiting fellow with the Project on Managing the Atom in the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School and a Stanton Nuclear Security fellow in the Security Studies Program at MIT. Until 2022, she was a senior lecturer (associate professor) in defense studies at King’s College London and taught on arms control, deterrence, and disarmament. From 2018 to 2019, Dr. Williams served as a specialist adviser to the House of Lords International Relations Committee inquiry into the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and disarmament, and until 2015 she was a research fellow at Chatham House. She previously worked in the Strategy, Forces, and Resources Division at the Institute for Defense Analyses, where she remains an adjunct research staff member. She is an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a senior associate fellow with the European Leadership Network, and a member of the Wilton Park Advisory Council. Dr. Williams has a PhD in war studies from King’s College London, an MA in security policy studies from the George Washington University, and a BA in international relations and Russian studies from Boston University.
- H. Andrew Schwartz
- Chief Communications Officer
- 202.775.3242
- aschwartz@csis.org
- Paige Montfort
- Media Relations Manager, External Relations
- 202.775.3173
- pmontfort@csis.org
Media Queries
- H. Andrew Schwartz
- Chief Communications Officer
- 202.775.3242
- aschwartz@csis.org
- Paige Montfort
- Media Relations Manager, External Relations
- 202.775.3173
- pmontfort@csis.org
In the News
Russia stops sharing missile test info with US, opens drills
Heather Williams in Boston Globe — March 29, 2023
Russia Announced a Historic Nuclear Weapons Move. Here's Why Experts Aren't Worried
Heather Williams in Time — March 28, 2023
American arms control leadership: What now?
Heather Williams in The Hill — March 1, 2023
Russia Says Its 'Satan-2' Missile Will Deploy This Year. Sure It Will.
Heather Williams in Popular Mechanics — February 27, 2023
Russia’s ‘dangerous’ move raises fears of new nuclear arms race
Heather Williams in Financial Times — February 24, 2023
Nuclear risk seen rising after Putin suspends treaty
Heather Williams in Reuters — February 23, 2023
Russia’s ‘dirty bomb’ threats challenge the nuclear calculus
Heather Williams in The Washington Post — November 2, 2022
How a 'Dirty Bomb' Actually Compares to a Nuclear Weapon
Heather Williams in Newsweek — October 24, 2022
All Heather Williams Content
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2023 Summer Conference
Event by Heather Williams , Joseph Rodgers , and Lachlan MacKenzie — July 26, 2023
Reactions from the Next Generation
Report by Heather Williams , Jamie Kwong , Nicholas Adamopoulos , Suzanne Claeys , Joseph Rodgers , Doreen Horschig , Lachlan MacKenzie , Melissa Chan , and Jessica Link — June 28, 2023
Alternative Nuclear Futures: Capability and Credibility Challenges for U.S. Extended Nuclear Deterrence
Report by Heather Williams , Kelsey Hartigan , Joseph Rodgers , and Reja Younis — May 8, 2023
CSIS European Trilateral Track 2 Nuclear Dialogues
Report by Heather Williams — March 20, 2023
The IAEA Mission in Ukraine: A Conversation with Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi
Event by Heather Williams and Rafael Mariano Grossi — March 14, 2023
Irreversibility in Nuclear Disarmament
Report by Heather Williams , Jessica Link , and Joseph Rodgers — February 28, 2023
Russia Suspends New START and Increases Nuclear Risks
Critical Questions by Heather Williams — February 23, 2023
Experts React: Factors Shaping the Russia-Ukraine Conflict in 2023
Commentary by Emily Harding , Benjamin Jensen , Heather Williams , and Eliot A. Cohen — February 13, 2023
Book Event: The Fragile Balance of Terror: Deterrence in the Nuclear Age
Event by Heather Williams , Scott Sagan , Ankit Panda , and Nicholas Miller — January 26, 2023
Arms Control after Ukraine: Integrated Arms Control and Deterring Two Peer Competitors
Report by Heather Williams and Nicholas Adamopoulos — December 16, 2022