Proliferation Management in the Third Nuclear Age: A Strategy and Rules ofEngagement

摘要

The concept of providing nuclear assistance, while not new, is a challenging andpolitically sensitive subject. This is because providing nuclear safety and security assistance to a new nuclear nation appears to run counter to established norms for containing the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Treaty based regimes, such as the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, remain the best tool to prevent proliferation. However, once proliferation has occurred, and existing options to address proliferation have been exhausted, providing such assistance may reduce the nuclear danger both to the state and the international community. Reducing this nuclear danger is in the U.S. national interest. This paper explores the viability of providing nuclear safety and security assistance as an additional option to address proliferation. The assistance option should not be considered the only available solution, nor an option without costs and risks; but, it may at times in the distant future, be the best option. This study is designed to stimulate the critical review of the viability of this option and to encourage the reader to start thinking about the future well before its time and circumstances arrive.