Prof Dr Tristan Volpe

Senior Researcher
Contact
volpe@ifsh.de
Berlin
ORCiD
Social media

Vita

Tristan Volpe is Senior Researcher in the research project Arms Control and Emerging Technologies at the Berlin office of the IFSH. He is on sabbatical leave from the Naval Postgraduate School, where he is an Associate Professor in the Defense Analysis Department. Tristan Volpe worked previously at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Research profile

He studies how technology shapes cooperation and competition among nations. His current research portfolio examines how the dual use nature of modern technology shapes arming strategies, as well as alternative governance options for managing arms races over artificial intelligence. 

  • Technology and international competition
  • Dual use - civilian and military - capabilities
  • Coercion and deterrence
  • Arms control and nonproliferation
  • Foreign and defense policies of USA

Memberships & professional activities

  • Associate Professor, Naval Postgraduate School
  • Non-resident Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
  • Editorial Board Member, Contemporary Security Policy

 

Selected Publications

  • Volpe, Tristan. 2023. Leveraging Latency: How the Weak Compel the Strong with Nuclear Technology. New York : Oxford University Press . DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780197669532.001.0001.
  • Vaynman, Jane, Tristan Volpe. 2023. Dual Use Deception: How Technology Shapes Cooperation in International Relations. International Organization 77 (3): 599-632. DOI: 10.1017/S0020818323000140.
  • Vaynman, Jane, Tristan Volpe. 2025. Competition and Collusion: How the AI Arms Race Can Motivate Governance. In: The Artificial General Intelligence Race and International Security, edited by Jim Mitre , Michael C. Horowitz , Natalia Henry , Emma Borden , Joel B. Predd , 43-53. Santa Monica, CA : RAND Corporation .
  • Volpe, Tristan. 2017. Atomic Leverage: Compellence with Nuclear Latency. Security Studies 26 (3): 517-544. DOI: 10.1080/09636412.2017.1306398.
  • Kühn, Ulrich, Tristan Volpe. 2017. Germany's Nuclear Education: Why a Few Elites Are Testing a Taboo. Washington Quarterly 40 (3): 7-27. DOI: 10.1080/0163660X.2017.1370317.
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Projects

Arms Control and Emerging Technologies