Welcome to Axes and Atoms, a Substack newsletter written by me, Nicole Grajewski. I am a Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and an Associate at the Project on Managing the Atom at Harvard’s Belfer Center. My work and research have long focused on the Russia-Iran relationship, with a particular emphasis on the military and nuclear dimensions of this evolving partnership. My book, Russia and Iran: Partners in Defiance from Syria to Ukraine, traces the recent history of the Russia–Iran relationship. This newsletter picks up where the book leaves off—offering space to track and analyze contemporary developments, especially on nuclear and military issues involving both countries.
Axes and Atoms will feature my analysis of developments within and among the various Axes—whether the Axis of Resistance, the Axis of Upheaval, the Axis of Autocracies, or other formations that Russia and Iran help animate. While much of the focus will revolve around either Russia or Iran, the scope goes beyond the bilateral relationship. Topics will include sanctions evasion, military affairs, nuclear developments, and the internal political drivers shaping foreign policy. This is where the Atoms side of the newsletter comes in. I’ll be looking closely at the military and nuclear dimensions—past and present—that shape how both countries project power, pursue deterrence, and navigate international constraints. From doctrine to delivery systems, enrichment milestones to arms control collapses, Axes and Atoms is a space for unpacking these dynamics.
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