No End in Sight: The Continuing Menace of Nuclear Proliferation

The global threat posed by weapons of mass destruction is one of today’s key policy issues. Using a vide variety of sources, including recently declassified information, Nathan E. Busch scrutinizes the nuclear programs of the United States, Russia, China, Pakistan, and India. He analyses the emerging nuclear capabilities of Iran and North Korea, nations whose possession and maintenance of nuclear weapons could present serious cause for international concern. Busch also discusses the nuclear weapons program discovered in Iraq after the 1991 Gulf War, the controversies over the continued existence of that program before the 2003 Iraq War, and the discoveries that have followed the toppling of the Ba’athist regime. Busch assesses the current global debates over the risks associated with nuclear proliferation in the post-cold War world. He explores theoretical disagreements between scholars who argue that proliferation can be beneficial because nuclear weapons-and the deterrence they provide-will increase international stability, and analysts who cite various organization and bureaucratic reasons in arguing that nuclear proliferation will undermine international security. Busch’s study bridges the gap between theory and empirical evidence by determining whether countries with nuclear weapons have adequate safeguards protecting their nuclear arsenals and fissile material stockpiles (such as highly enriched uranium and plutonium). Based upon his analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of various systems of nuclear weapons regulation, Busch also provides a prognosis of the controls proliferating states are likely to employ to curb thefts of nuclear weapons or fissile materials by aspiring nuclear states or by terrorists. No end in Sight provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of issues at the forefront of contemporary international affairs. The book weighs the risks and benefits, both current and potential, of further nuclear proliferation while offering clear policy recommendations based on the author’s careful scrutiny of modern global aggressive nation-states can devastate millions of people, Busch’s insights and conclusions will prove critical to understanding the implications of nuclear proliferation.