The Nonproliferation Policy Education Center (NPEC) is an American nonpartisan think tank founded in 1994 to educate policymakers, the media, and academics about how to control the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). NPEC's policy papers urge the United States government to pursue a harder line with potential proliferators of nuclear arms, in contrast to the more "upbeat view" that the risks of nuclear weapons proliferation can be safely managed as nuclear energy programs become more widespread. Programs Each year, the NPEC Public Policy Fellowship is offered to young and mid-career government professionals to provide a rigorous understanding of how and why nuclear proliferation occurs. As of February 2018, roughly 150 professionals had completed the course, and were working for both Democratic and Republic members of Congress, staffing committees, and working for the State Department and the Pentagon. In addition, NPEC offers a Space Policy Course taught by space policy practitioners and experts. Funding A nonpartisan, nonprofit educational research organization, NPEC has received funding from foundations including the MacArthur Foundation, which awarded 8 grants totalling $2,992,000 between 2008 and 2021. NPEC has also received funding from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Policy stances and commentary The NPEC website (npolicy.org) has been called a "goldmine" of information related to the sources of fissile material. Henry D. Sokolski, the founder and executive director of NPEC, has argued that the current controls for nuclear nonproliferation must be tightened, and that government leaders are not treating the issue of nuclear weapons proliferation with sufficient urgency. While Sokolski has suggested in the past that the United States should distinguish between "progressive and illiberal regimes" in its approach to nonproliferation policy, he has also warned that the U.S. should avoid incentivizing allies such as Japan and South Korea to increase nuclear fuel production. Facts on File has described Sokolski as "hawkish" and has suggested that NPEC is more closely aligned with Republican administrations, pointing to its support of the first George W. Bush administration, when it praised the nuclear disarmament of Libya and Iraq, as well as the enforcement of export controls. However, NPEC was critical of Bush's second term, including its "overly generous nuclear cooperation with India, weak sanctions against Iran, and winking at potentially dangerous nuclear programs in Egypt, Turkey, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Yemen, and the GCC states." Russia and Ukraine NPEC Executive Director Henry Sokolski has been an active commentator on