A Four-Faction Heuristic "WXYZ" Model for Exploring U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Politics
Dr. Christopher Ford • April 7, 2022
On March 31, 2022, Hoover Institution Press published Dr. Ford's essay "A Four-Faction Heuristic 'WXYZ' Model for Exploring U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Politics" in its essay series.
In this paper, Dr. Ford offers a model to help explain US arms control policy and politics over the last two decades. In this framing, policy decisions are the result of contestation, bargaining, and coalition dynamics between four “WXYZ” factions within the policy community, ranging from dovish “Ws” to hawkish “Zs.” This schema can illuminate major US arms control policy debates and decisions over the last generation. You can find the essay on Hoover's website here, or use the button below to download a PDF.
Below is the text upon which Dr. Ford based his remarks to the Labs Nuclear Scholars Initiative at CSIS on October 20, 2025.
In October 2025, the Next Generation Nuclear Network at the Center for Strategic and International Studies released a long recorded interview with Dr. Ford as part of its Arms Control oral history project entitled “The Negotiator Files.” You can find Dr. Ford's interview here .
Below is the prepared text upon which Dr. Ford based his remarks at an event at Hudson Institute on October 2, 2025, on the U.S. Institute of Peace Senior Study Group on Strategic Stability’s recent report on “ Sustaining the Nuclear Peace .”
Below is the prepared text upon which Dr. Ford based his remarks at a briefing for Congressional staffers on September 30, 2025, organized by the University of Pennsylvania’s Washington Cente r and the Wilson Center .
Below is the prepared text upon which Dr. Ford based his remarks to the “arms control boot camp” program for young national security professionals organized by the CSIS Project on Nuclear Issues in Washington, D.C., on September 30, 2025.
Below are the remarks upon which Dr. Ford based his opening remarks in a webinar on September 23, 2025, sponsored by the National Institute for Public Policy (NIPP).
Below are the remarks Dr. Ford delivered on September 22, 2025, at a conference in Singapore sponsored by the Pacific Forum.
Dr. Ford's essay on the history of Missouri State University's School of Defense and Strategic Studies was published in Defense & Strategic Studies Online (DASSO), vol. 2, no. 1 (Autumn 2025). You can find the whole issue on the DASSO website here , or use the button below to download a PDF of Dr. Ford's piece . (Also, the home page for DASSO can be found here .)
On September 17, 2025, the website Fair Observer published Dr. Ford's essay looking back on the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and musing about the challenges facing America's political culture today. You can find the essay on Fair Observer 's webpage here , or use the button below to download a PDF.
Dr. Ford's article on "Thinking About Strategy in an Artificial Superintelligence Arms Race" -- co-authored with Dr. Craig Wiener -- was published in Defense & Strategic Studies Online (DASSO), vol. 1, no. 4 (Summer 2025). You can find the whole issue on the DASSO website here , or use the button below to download a PDF of the Ford/Wiener article. (Also, the home page for DASSO can be found here .)