Prospects for Nuclear Proliferation.

Abstract

This study surveys and analyzes various problems relating to the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the future of the nonproliferation regime. Nuclear proliferation is the intersection of a number of important issues, none of which individually will decide how events will unfold. The growing number of nuclear power industries throughout the world has led to the widespread availability of the necessary nuclear technology and fissile material usd to construct nuclear weapons. The capability is thus becoming increasingly available to many national leaders. The motivations for a country to go nuclear could change rather suddenly in an international system which is plagued by a greater fragmentation and diffusion of power. This study finds that: (1) the present fragile nuclear non-proliferation regime is inadequate to limit the spread of nuclear weapons; (2) the world is gradually moving into a period in which it may soon contain from 15 to 20 nuclear states; and (3) the danger will be all the greater that a brush-fire war involving any one of them may take on global dimensions.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1983
Accession Number
ADA132124

Entities

People

  • Donald Wayne Phillips

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Arms Control
  • Arms Control Treaties
  • Fissile Materials
  • Fissionable Materials
  • Intergovernmental Organizations
  • International Law
  • International Organizations
  • International Relations
  • National Security
  • Negotiations
  • Nuclear Bombs
  • Nuclear Energy
  • Nuclear Explosions
  • Nuclear Materials
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • Treaties
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Economics
  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation and International Security
  • Strategic Security Studies