
Dr Daniel Salisbury
Senior Research Fellow
- Leverhulme Early Career Fellow
Biography
Dr Daniel Salisbury is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Science and Security Studies (CSSS) within the Department of War Studies. He is currently undertaking a three-year research project on arms embargos as part of a Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship. Daniel is also a Non-Resident Associate at the Project on Managing the Atom at the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. He previously held positions at the Stimson Center, the Belfer Center, the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, CSSS and the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Daniel is the author of Secrecy, Public Relations and the British Nuclear Debate: How the UK Government Learned to Talk about the Bomb, 1970-1983 (Routledge Cold War History series, 2020). He is also the author or co-author of over 20 journal articles and book chapters, and the co-editor of two books on Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) and UN Security Council resolution 1540.
Daniel has acted as a Subject Matter Expert at over 30 nuclear security and export control capacity building workshops in over 10 countries around the world since 2012. He holds a PhD in War Studies, MA in Science and Security and BA in War Studies from King's College London. He sits on the editorial board of the Strategic Trade Review and became an Associate of King’s College London (AKC) in 2010.
Research
- Illicit trade and proliferation networks
- Arms embargoes
- Sanctions and export controls
- Cold War history
- British nuclear history
- Nuclear security
- Nonproliferation
- Nuclear and missile programmes
Daniel’s research interests encompass a number of areas: nuclear and intelligence history, nuclear and conventional arms proliferation, countering illicit networks and preventing nuclear terrorism. His new three-year Leverhulme Trust research project seeks to situate his research on illicit trade and proliferation networks within a broader picture of technology and arms transfers, defence industrial base issues and great power politics during the history of the Cold War.
Publications
Books
- Secrecy, Public Relations and the British Nuclear Debate: How the UK Government Learned to Talk About the Bomb, 1970-1983 (UK: Routledge, 2020).
- Preventing the Proliferation of WMDs: Measuring the Success of UN Security Council Resolution 1540 (UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018) [Co-edited with Ian Stewart and Andrea Viski]
- Open Source Intelligence in the Twenty-First Century: New Approaches and Opportunities (UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014) [Co-edited with Matthew Moran and Christopher Hobbs]
Research articles
- ‘Countering a Technological Berlin Tunnel: North Korean Operatives, Helicopters and Intelligence in the Cold War Illicit Arms Trade, 1981-1986’, Intelligence and National Security (2022).
- ‘Of Moles and Missiles: Anatomy of a North Korean Arms Deal?’, Nonproliferation Review (2022).
- ‘Spies, Diplomats and Deceit: Exploring the Persistent Role of Diplomatic Missions in North Korea’s WMD Proliferation and Arms Trafficking Networks.’ Asian Security (2021).
- ‘Security under Strain? Protecting Nuclear Materials during the COVID-19 Pandemic’ (with Chris Hobbs and Nick Roth). RUSI Journal (2021)
- ‘Arming Iran from the Heart of Westminster? The Iranian Military Procurement Offices, Rumours and Intelligence, 1981-1987.’ Intelligence and National Security (2020).
- ‘Exploring the Use of “Third Countries” in Proliferation Networks: the case of Malaysia,’ European Journal of International Security 4, no.1 (2019): 101-122.
Policy papers
- ‘Nuclear Security Culture in Practice: A Handbook of UK Case Studies’ (with Karl Dewey, George Foster and Christopher Hobbs). Centre for Science and Security Studies, King’s College London (March 2021)
- ‘The Long Arm: How U.S. Law Enforcement Expanded its Extraterritorial Reach to Counter WMD Proliferation Networks’ (with Aaron Arnold). Belfer Center/Managing the Atom Paper (February 2019).
Media articles
- 'Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: Iranian arms dealing continued in the UK even after notorious tank deal fell apart in 1979’, The Conversation (22 March 2022)
- ‘Will North Korea Sell Its Nuclear Technology?,’ Scientific American (25 September 2017).
- ‘Sanctions Against North Korea Consistently Fail. Why?,’ Newsweek (15 July 2017).
- ‘A Malaysian Shipyard with North Korean Connections?,’ Arms Control Wonk blog (18 May 2017).
Further details
Research

Economic Conflict & Competition Research Group
The ECCRG aims to be an academic centre of excellence for developing sustained, inter-disciplinary research on the study of Economic Warfare.
News
King's academics publish the definitive book on nuclear security with Oxford University Press
With over 60 contributors spanning six continents, and coverage of historical, current and emerging issues, The Oxford Handbook of Nuclear Security brings the...

New publication: 'Murder on Waterloo Bridge: placing the assassination of Georgi Markov in past and present context, 1970 - 2018'
Daniel Salisbury and Karl Dewey published a new peer reviewed article in Contemporary British History journal exploring the assassination of Bulgarian...

Preventing the proliferation WMDs: measuring the success of UNSCR1540
This edited volume provides a fresh analysis for researcher and practitioners regarding United Nations Security Council resolution 1540, the status of its...

Proliferation case study: Nicholas Kaiga's efforts to supply aluminium tubes to Iran
This case study details the attempts of an unnamed individual – Individual A – to illicitly procure controlled aluminium tubing. Individual A owns companies...

Trade controls and non-proliferation: compliance costs, drivers and challenges
Project Alpha researcher, Daniel Salisbury, recently published an article in the journal Business and Politics entitled ‘Trade controls and non-proliferation:...

Secrecy, Public Relations and the British Nuclear Debate
Dr Daniel Salisbury's forthcoming book explores the British government’s efforts to make the case for nuclear weapons and public debates about nuclear weapons...
Events

Making Order from Disorder: Navigating the Politics of International Investigations and Accountability
Giving a fresh perspective of the conduct and implications of International investigations
Please note: this event has passed.
Features
Adaptation Under Pressure: Russian and Ukrainian Air Power and Domain Capabilities
Watch Dr Reyhaneh Fallah- Noshiravani, Dr Julia Muravska and Dr Daniel Salisbury as they discuss how states address shortcoming in air power and air domain...

Why arms embargoes on countries such as North Korea fail
More insight is needed on how to prevent the proliferation of potentially destabilising military capabilities.

Research

Economic Conflict & Competition Research Group
The ECCRG aims to be an academic centre of excellence for developing sustained, inter-disciplinary research on the study of Economic Warfare.
News
King's academics publish the definitive book on nuclear security with Oxford University Press
With over 60 contributors spanning six continents, and coverage of historical, current and emerging issues, The Oxford Handbook of Nuclear Security brings the...

New publication: 'Murder on Waterloo Bridge: placing the assassination of Georgi Markov in past and present context, 1970 - 2018'
Daniel Salisbury and Karl Dewey published a new peer reviewed article in Contemporary British History journal exploring the assassination of Bulgarian...

Preventing the proliferation WMDs: measuring the success of UNSCR1540
This edited volume provides a fresh analysis for researcher and practitioners regarding United Nations Security Council resolution 1540, the status of its...

Proliferation case study: Nicholas Kaiga's efforts to supply aluminium tubes to Iran
This case study details the attempts of an unnamed individual – Individual A – to illicitly procure controlled aluminium tubing. Individual A owns companies...

Trade controls and non-proliferation: compliance costs, drivers and challenges
Project Alpha researcher, Daniel Salisbury, recently published an article in the journal Business and Politics entitled ‘Trade controls and non-proliferation:...

Secrecy, Public Relations and the British Nuclear Debate
Dr Daniel Salisbury's forthcoming book explores the British government’s efforts to make the case for nuclear weapons and public debates about nuclear weapons...
Events

Making Order from Disorder: Navigating the Politics of International Investigations and Accountability
Giving a fresh perspective of the conduct and implications of International investigations
Please note: this event has passed.
Features
Adaptation Under Pressure: Russian and Ukrainian Air Power and Domain Capabilities
Watch Dr Reyhaneh Fallah- Noshiravani, Dr Julia Muravska and Dr Daniel Salisbury as they discuss how states address shortcoming in air power and air domain...

Why arms embargoes on countries such as North Korea fail
More insight is needed on how to prevent the proliferation of potentially destabilising military capabilities.
