Potential Strategic Consequences of the Nuclear Energy Revival
Renewed interest throughout the globe in harnessing nuclear energy has raised concern about security threats from states and non-state actors while holding out the promise of more electricity for more people.
The focus of this paper is on assessing the potential security consequences of increased use of nuclear power in the existing nuclear power states and most importantly in many more states that have in recent years expressed interest in this power source. While safety of nuclear plants and disposal of radioactive waste are important issues, this paper analyzes the risks of sabotage of nuclear facilities, and misuse of peaceful nuclear technologies to make nuclear weapons, and addresses two under-examined risks: military attacks on nuclear facilities and the effects on security alliances and conventional arms buildups as more countries seek to acquire nuclear power infrastructures.
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Potential Strategic Consequences of the Nuclear Energy Revival
Security Studies Center
Heir to a tradition dating back to the founding of Ifri, the Security Studies Center provides public and private decision-makers as well as the general public with the keys to understanding power relations and contemporary modes of conflict as well as those to come. Through its positioning at the juncture of politics and operations, the credibility of its civil-military team and the wide distribution of its publications in French and English, the Center for Security Studies constitutes in the French landscape of think tanks a unique center of research and influence on the national and international defense debate.
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