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Monica Duffy Toft

Monica Duffy Toft

Professor of International Politics and Director, Center for Strategic Studies at Fletcher School, Tufts University

Appears in 1 story

Stories

The doomsday clock: Tracking humanity's self-inflicted risks

Rule Changes

Analyzing New START expiration consequences

On January 27, 2026, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the Doomsday Clock to 85 seconds to midnight—the closest it has ever been to symbolic annihilation in its 78-year history. The four-second advance from 2025's 89-second setting reflects what the Science and Security Board called a year of escalating dangers: the expiration of the New START treaty on February 5, 2026 (ending 54 years of legally binding nuclear limits), aggressive nuclear modernization by the United States, Russia, and China, artificial intelligence supercharging disinformation campaigns that Nobel laureate Maria Ressa described as "informational armageddon," and the global rise of autocratic governments less accountable to their citizens.

Updated Feb 2