The Hon. Christopher A. Ford
New Paradigms Forum -- International Security Policy Since 2009
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Ford's 2023 Round-Up
Dr. Christopher Ford • January 8, 2024
With 2023 now in our collective rear-view mirror, I thought I’d offer you a handy compilation of my public work product from the last year. The list is heavy on strategic competition with China, of course, but doesn’t omit other topics (e.g., morality and nuclear weapons policy, nuclear nonproliferation, and North Korea).
Keep checking New Paradigms Forum for new material as we move into 2024!
Papers and Articles
- Christopher A. Ford, “Xi Jinping, Michel Foucault, and Spy Balloons? Communist China’s Theory of Control and Visions of a Post-Westphalian World Order” National Security Law Journal, vol. 11, no. 1 (2023), https://www.nslj.org/wp-content/uploads/Ford-Xi-Jinping-Michel-Foucault-and-Spy-Balloons-Communist-Chinas-Theory-of-Control-and-Visions-of-a-Post-Westphalian-World-Order.pdf
- Christopher A. Ford, “What to Do about North Korean Nuclear Weapons: Allied Solidarity, the Limits of Diplomacy, and the ‘Pain Box,’” Hoover Institution Press (August 23, 2023), https://www.hoover.org/research/what-do-about-north-korean-nuclear-weapons
- Christopher A. Ford, “An Insurance Policy for Dependence of U.S. Supply Chains on Foreign Providers” (with a co-author), as Chapter 3 in Silicon Triangle: The United States, Taiwan, China, and Global Semiconductor Security (Hoover Institution & The Asia Society: July 18, 2023), https://irp.cdn-website.com/ce29b4c3/files/uploaded/Silicon%20Triangle%20Ford%20Chapter.pdf
- Christopher A. Ford, “Nuclear Weapons Ethics and a Critique of the ‘Strong Case’ for Disarmament,” in Morality and Nuclear Weapons: Practitioner Perspectives (Brad Roberts, ed.), (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory: Center for Global Security Research, 2023),https://www.newparadigmsforum.com/nuclear-weapons-ethics-and-a-critique-of-the-strong-case-for-disarmament
- Christopher A. Ford, “Assessing the Biden Administration’s ‘Big Four’ National Security Guidance Documents,” National Institute for Public Policy Occasional Papers, vol. 3, no. 1 (January 2023), https://nipp.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/OP-Vol.-3-No.-1.pdf
Remarks and Presentations:
- Christopher A. Ford, “Conceptualizing Strategic Competition in the Narrative Trilogy of Victory: ‘What’ Stories, ‘Why’ Stories, and ‘How’ Stories” remarks at the U.S. Foreign Service Institute (December 7, 2023), https://www.newparadigmsforum.com/conceptualizing-strategic-competition-in-the-narrative-trilogy-of-victory-what-stories-why-stories-and-how-stories
- Christopher A. Ford, “America as a Strategic Competitor: ‘Damn the Doomsayers, Say I,’” remarks to a conference at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (December 5, 2023), https://www.newparadigmsforum.com/america-as-a-strategic-competitor-damn-the-doomsayers-say-i
- Christopher A. Ford, “Countervailing Posture, the ‘Offensive Nuclear Umbrella,’ and the Future of Arms Control,” remarks at DACOR Bacon House, Washington, D.C. (October 6, 2023), https://www.newparadigmsforum.com/countervailing-posture-the-offensive-nuclear-umbrella-and-the-future-of-arms-control
- Christopher A. Ford, “Information Confrontation and China’s Discourse Strategy,” remarks at the Center for Global Security Research, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (September 18, 2023), https://www.newparadigmsforum.com/information-confrontation-and-chinas-discourse-strategy
- Christopher A. Ford, “Running Faster for the ‘Commanding Heights’ of the Next Industrial Revolution?” remarks to Metron’s 2023 corporate strategy retreat (September 12, 2023), https://www.newparadigmsforum.com/running-faster-for-the-commanding-heights-of-the-next-industrial-revolution
- Christopher A. Ford, “Information Confrontation with Russia and Dynamics of ‘Positive’ and ‘Negative’ Deterrence,” remarks at Wilton Park, United Kingdom (July 21, 2023), https://www.newparadigmsforum.com/information-confrontation-with-russia-and-dynamics-of-positive-and-negative-deterrence
- Christopher A. Ford, “Nuclear ‘Hedging,’ Arms Control, and Today’s Strategic Challenges,” remarks at the Nuclear Triad Symposium held at Louisiana State University – Shreveport (July 20, 2023), https://www.newparadigmsforum.com/nuclear-hedging-arms-control-and-todays-strategic-challenges
- Christopher A. Ford, “The Dangers and Limits of Cooperation Between the World’s Most Dangerous Dictators,” remarks at a National Security Institute event at the Rayburn House Office Building, U.S. House of Representatives (May 31, 2023), https://www.newparadigmsforum.com/the-dangers-and-limits-of-cooperation-among-the-worlds-most-dangerous-dictators
- Christopher A. Ford, Dr. Ford’s
Commencement Address for the Class of 2023 at Missouri State University’s Graduate Department of Defense and Strategic Studies (May 19, 2023), https://www.newparadigmsforum.com/2023-commencement-address-missouri-state-university-graduate-department-of-defense-strategic-studies
- Christopher A. Ford, “Four Points to Keep in Mind in Strategic Competition with China,” remarks at Vanderbilt University’s 2nd annual Summit on Modern Conflict and Emerging Threats (May 4, 2023), https://www.newparadigmsforum.com/four-points-to-keep-in-mind-in-strategic-competition-with-china
- Christopher A. Ford, “China’s Struggle for Technology Dominance and U.S. Responses: An Insider’s Account,” keynote address to the National Organization of Investment Professionals’ annual Washington, D.C. conference (April 20, 2023), https://www.newparadigmsforum.com/chinas-struggle-for-technology-dominance-and-u-s-responses-an-insiders-account
- Christopher A. Ford, “Learning from the NPT’s Challenges,” remarks to the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center’s Public Policy Fellows Research Retreat (February 8, 2023), https://www.newparadigmsforum.com/learning-from-the-npt-regime-s-challenges
Below is the text upon which Dr. Ford drew in making his informal remarks to a March 13, 2025, workshop as part of the “Future of Arms Control Project” sponsored by the Geneva Graduate Institute’s Centre on Conflict, Development & Peacebuilding (CCDP).
The National Institute for Public Policy (NIPP) published Dr. Ford's paper " Struggling with The Bomb: Competing Discourses in the Nuclear Disarmament Movement" in February 2025, as the second paper in Volume 5 of its Occasional Papers series. You can find Dr. Ford's paper on NIPP's website here , or use the button below to download a PDF.
Dr. Ford and Lord Nigel Biggar published their essay on " Rebutting Sino-Russian Political Discourse and Getting Rights Right" in the Winter 2025 issue of Defense & Strategic Studies Online (DASSO). You can find the DASSO homepage here , read the full second issue of DASSO here , access the Ford/Biggar essay online here , or use the button below to download a PDF of the essay.
Below is the text upon which Dr. Ford based his remarks to a conference at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on February 20, 2025.
Below is the text upon which Dr. Ford based his remarks on February 18, 2025, to a Track 2 dialogue with Russia on Military Risk Reduction in Europe.
On February 6, 2025, the Center for Global Security Research at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory published a new edited volume on nuclear weapons challenges in the Middle East. Dr. Ford's paper "Snapping Back and Looking Forward: A New Old Approach to the Iran Nuclear Crisis" appears in that volume. You can find the whole book on CGSR's website here , or use the button below to download Dr. Ford's chapter.
Below is the prepared text upon which Dr. Ford drew in his panel discussion for an even sponsored by the New York State Bar Association on "Nuclear Weapons and International Law" on January 30, 2025.
Below is the text upon which Dr. Ford based his remarks to the workshop on “Enhancing Regional Security and Addressing WMD Threats in the Middle East,” held in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on January 23, 2023.
With 2024 hours from being over, here’s a handy compilation of my public work product from the last year. As you can see from the list of seven papers or articles and 20 presentations below, it’s been a big year for nuclear weapons policy and arms control topics – but as always there’s a good helping of strategic competition with China. Keep checking New Paradigms Forum for new material as we move into 2025. And Happy New Year, everyone!
Below is an edited and revised version of the remarks Dr. Ford prepared for a CSIS/PONI Workshop on “Irreversibility in Nuclear Disarmament” at Wilton Park, in the United Kingdom, on December 18, 2024.