Henry D. Sokolski is the founder and executive director of the

Nonproliferation Policy Education Center The Nonproliferation Policy Education Center (NPEC) is an American nonpartisan think tank founded in 1994 to educate policymakers, the media, and academics about how to control the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). NPEC's po ...

, a

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

-based think tank promoting a better understanding of strategic weapons proliferation issues among policymakers, scholars, and the media. He teaches as an adjunct professor at

The Institute of World Politics The Institute of World Politics (IWP) is a private graduate school of national security, intelligence, and international affairs in Washington DC, and Reston, Virginia. Founded in 1990, it offers courses related to intelligence, national secu ...

in Washington, D.C. and at the University of Utah and has an appointment as Senior Fellow for Nuclear Security Studies at the University of California at San Diego, School of Global Policy and Strategy. Sokolski is regularly quoted by journalists covering nuclear issues. When Russia seized Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in 2022, Sokolski was quoted in articles in ''The New York Times'', ''Reuters'', and ''The Washington Post.''

Education

Sokolski attended the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

and

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern California. In 1925, it became t ...

and completed his graduate studies in political science at the University of Chicago.

Career

From 1989 to 1993, Sokolski served as the Deputy for Nonproliferation Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, for which he received the Secretary of Defense's Medal for Outstanding Public Service. Prior to this, he worked in the Secretary of Defense's

Office of Net Assessment The United States Department of Defense's Office of Net Assessment (ONA) was created in 1973 by Richard Nixon to serve as the Pentagon's "internal think tank" that "looks 20 to 30 years into the military's future, often with the assistance of outsi ...

on strategic weapons proliferation issues. In addition to his Executive Branch service, Sokolski worked on the Hill from 1984 through 1988 as senior military legislative aide to Senate Armed Services Committee member

Dan Quayle James Danforth Quayle (; born February 4, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party, Quayle served as a U.S. ...

and from 1982 through 1983 as special assistant on nuclear energy matters to TVA Subcommittee Chairman Senator

Gordon J. Humphrey Gordon John Humphrey (born October 9, 1940) is an American politician from New Hampshire who served two terms in the U.S. Senate as a Republican from 1979 to 1990, and twice ran for Governor of New Hampshire, though both bids were unsuccessful. ...

. He also worked as a consultant on nuclear weapons proliferation issues to the Intelligence Community's

National Intelligence Council The National Intelligence Council (NIC), established in 1979 and reporting to the Director of National Intelligence, bridges the United States Intelligence Community (IC) with policy makers in the United States. The NIC produces the "Global Tren ...

; received a Congressional appointment to the Deutch Proliferation Commission, which completed its report in July 1999; served as a member of the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

's Senior Advisory Panel from 1995 to 1996; and was a member of the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, which operated until 2010. Sokolski has been a resident fellow at the National Institute for Public Policy, the

Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (abbreviated to Heritage) is an American conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. that is primarily geared toward public policy. The foundation took a leading role in the conservative movement during the preside ...

, and the

Hoover Institution The Hoover Institution (officially The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace; abbreviated as Hoover) is an American public policy think tank and research institution that promotes personal and economic liberty, free enterprise, an ...

. He also has taught political science courses at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

Rosary College Dominican University (DU) is a private Roman Catholic university in River Forest, Illinois, affiliated with the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters. It offers bachelor's and master's degrees, certificate programs, and a PhD in information studies. Do ...

, Georgetown, and Loyola University. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and IISS and is on the editorial board of ''The Nonproliferation Review''. In a detailed 2018 profile of Sokolski, ''Congressional Quarterly'' described him as one of Washington's key "influencers"-- a rare Washingtonian willing to play "a longer game." ''The National Journal'' recognized Sokolski as one of the ten key individuals whose ideas will help shape the policy debate on the future of nuclear weapons.

Publications

Sokolski has authored and edited a number of books on nuclear proliferation, including ''Underestimated: Our Not So Peaceful Nuclear Future''

(Carlisle, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, 2016); ''Best of Intentions: America's Campaign Against Strategic Weapons Proliferation,

(Westport, CT: Praeger, 2001);'' Should We Let the Bomb Spread?

(Carlisle, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, 2016); ''Moving Beyond Pretense: Nuclear Power and Nonproliferation, ''(Carlisle, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, 2014);'' Nuclear Weapons Security Crises: What Does History Teach?, ''(Carlisle, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, 2013);'' The Next Arms Race, ''(Carlisle, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, 2012);'' Nuclear Power's Global Expansion: Weighing Its Costs and Risks'',(Carlisle, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, 2011);'' Falling Behind: International Scrutiny of the Peaceful Atom, ''(Carlisle, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, 2008);and'' Getting MAD: Nuclear Mutual Assured Destruction Its Origins and Practice'

(Carlisle, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, 2004)''.''

References

External links

Nonproliferation Policy Education Center staff bio

Nonproliferation Policy Education Center
– Organization website

''NewsHour with Jim Lehrer'', February 22, 2007
NPEC Print and Media Citations
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sokolski, Henry Living people Year of birth missing (living people) The Heritage Foundation United States Department of Defense officials People of the Central Intelligence Agency University of Chicago faculty University of Southern California alumni Pomona College alumni University of Chicago alumni The Institute of World Politics faculty