Burma's Nuclear Program: Towards a Weapons Capability

The world today faces a critical nuclear turning point. Momentum for disarmament is stalling in spite of high–profile calls by world leaders in recent years to reduce and even eliminate the dangers posed by nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapon aspirants maintain their path toward the bomb. The technical capability to possibly develop nuclear weapons continues to spread, including among non–state actors. The growing demand for nuclear energy and other nuclear technologies around the world raises as well new demands for improved tools for nuclear non–proliferation and security. Now more than ever, the good governance of nuclear weapons―policies and practices which diminish the salience and possible use of nuclear weapons, and promote nuclear disarmament, non–proliferation, and security―needs to be expanded and strengthened. This article examines some of the major challenges to good nuclear governance and their implications: lack of consensus among great powers and concomitant weakening of global and regional institutions; emergence of “outliers”; and increased access to nuclear technologies. The conclusions present recommendations for bolstering nuclear arms control, disarmament, non– proliferation, and, particularly, nuclear security at the global, regional, and national levels. The conclusions also urge state–centric institutions and initiatives concerned with nuclear security to devote far more resources to establish and/or further deepen constructive working relationships with the non–governmental communities concerned with nuclear security, including the private sector particularly the nuclear energy industry and its related sub– sectors, as well as the non–governmental community of scientific and policy expertise.