Nuclear power and nuclear weapons: The tenuous link

Abstract

Abstract In the debates over nuclear nonproliferation, a close link is often ascribed between the development of nuclear power facilities and a nuclear weapons capability. This putative linkage appears to underlie much of U.S. nonproliferation policy through a number of Administrations. Yet the historical record does not substantiate this relationship. Nuclear weapons have invariably preceded civilian power reactors; there are a great many nations with nuclear power reactors which have little reason or cause to develop nuclear weapons. This questionable linkage has several direct policy implications for U.S. nuclear nonproliferation policy, which heretofore has been characterized by serious inconsistencies that are, in part, the result of an erroneous reading of other nations’ nuclear capabilities and intentions.