Nuclear Issues Research Articles

US Nuclear Posture Review 2018: Unwisely Re-opening ‘Settled’ Nuclear Issues

The latest NPR released in 2018 under the watch of President Trump, unabashedly echoes the sentiment of America First. Many nuclear war-fighting issues and concepts that had been settled in the past after having been experimented with and discarded for the risks they carried have yet again been adopted by the current NPR. But, America’s sole focus on its own security alone could end up creating more security dilemmas for the US, and others. This article identifies the main highlights of the NPR, as well as its limitations, and the implications of both for nuclear strategies of major nuclear players. It describes and analyses the context, the content and the consequences of the NPR. It specifically flags some issues/actions that India must particularly watch out for since some of these need to be monitored for their implications on the nuclear strategies and trajectories of India’s nuclear armed neighbours.

A Survey and Analysis on the Sense of Nuclear Safety & Security for the Public: A Chinese Perspective

With the new round of global nuclear issues, the populace’s emotion has been tensed and discomposure has been trigged off. To accurately understand the sense of nuclear safety & security for the Chinese public and ensure that the government makes reasonable decisions regarding nuclear issues, a special questionnaire and evaluation has been carried out. With the use of the principles for sociology of security, the methods of questionnaires and SPSS, a three-dimension assessment system, which consists of knowledge and experience, internal, and external trust, and the way of perception, was constructed. This research shows that the state of Chinese populace’s sense of nuclear safety & security is generally as follows: their knowledge of nuclear safety & security and personal experience are still on a low to intermediate level; In terms of trust, it shows that the populace has lack of adequate trust in nuclear safety & security of neighboring countries or regions, as well as Chinese government’s countermeasures; in the way of perception of nuclear safety & security, the populace has few options of related information sources and though the sources are less reliable. Also, the size of the audience of nuclear safety & security is far short of what is desired. Finally, the comprehensive assessment holds that the current overall sense of security for the Chinese populace is on a low to intermediate level (40.71%). This paper points out that China should strengthen the popularization of the security of nuclear science to enhance public security confidence, also, further, more detailed and specific safeguarding measures regarding nuclear safety & security should be made to promote the development of nuclear safety & security affairs.

North Korea's nuclear issue and possible solutions through concerted efforts of Russia and China

North Korea's nuclear issue and possible solutions through concerted efforts of Russia and China

The Iranian Nuclear Impasse: The Protracted Imbroglio

The Iranian nuclear deadlock has been one of the most contentious issues confronting the international community till date. The following article seeks to trace the tussle between the evolution of the Iranian nuclear aspirations and the politics of non-proliferation. It is divided into four main sections. The first section attempts to give a brief description of the problematic of the discriminatory politics of nuclear non-proliferation regime that Iran has been put through by the West. Iran’s nuclear aspirations can be traced back to the 1950s. Its strategic relations with the USA and leading European nations brought Iran significant scientific and technological assistance to set up a nuclear infrastructure. The second segment of the article delves into Iran’s nuclear activities during the Shah regime and the Western response. The post-Shah years brought about notable changes in the Western approach to Iran’s nuclear pursuit, the denial of nuclear technology to Iran being the predominant stand of the West especially the USA. The third section addresses the changes in Iran’s stand on the nuclear issue and the consequent changes in its relations with the West especially the USA. The last section of the article, that is, the concluding part attempts a dispassionate take on the rationale behind its nuclear aspirations, the veracity of its arguments and the future of the Iranian nuclear impasse.

Book Review: Asif Shuja (2018). India–Iran Relations: Under the Shadow of the Iranian Nuclear Issue Challenges for India’s Diplomacy

Book Review: Asif Shuja (2018). <i>India–Iran Relations: Under the Shadow of the Iranian Nuclear Issue Challenges for India’s Diplomacy</i>

Trust But Verify: Donald Trump, Kim Jong Un and a Denuclearising North Korea after the Singapore Summit

The Trump–Kim Summit in Singapore can be regarded as a meaningful first step in a long journey towards complete denuclearisation of North Korea. At the Singapore summit, President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un agreed that North Korea would denuclearise completely and that the United States would in return provide North Korea with security guarantees. However, due to political complexity of the North Korean nuclear issue and technical difficulties of nuclear dismantlement, the process towards complete denuclearisation of North Korea is expected to be protracted and difficult. The prospects for future US–North Korea nuclear negotiations will largely depend on how both countries can work out together the concrete steps, phases and timelines for the implementation of denuclearisation.

북핵 문제와 동아시아 담론 : 생산적 접점 마련을 위한 시론

북핵 문제와 동아시아 담론 : 생산적 접점 마련을 위한 시론

The Format of the Six-Party Negotiations on the North Korean Nuclear Issue (2003–2010): Position of the Russia

The Format of the Six-Party Negotiations on the North Korean Nuclear Issue (2003–2010): Position of the Russia

Modelling groundwater contamination above a potential nuclear waste repository in the Columbia River Basalt, USA

Potential groundwater contamination above the one-time candidate repository for high-level nuclear waste in the Columbia River Basalt (CRB), USA, is evaluated in a flow-transport model with 260,895 elements for a period of 1 million years. The hydrogeologic database originates from the Basalt Waste Isolation Project, which ended in 1987, giving way to the Yucca Mountain project. The CRB data have been scanned recently with the object of finding a storage site for natural gas and a sequestration site for CO2. However, the impact on the nuclear issue in the USA or other countries with similar large flood-basalt provinces has never been evaluated since the suspension of the project. The peak radioactive dose predicted for a potential repository in the CRB is at least eight orders of magnitude lower than the US generic regulatory limit (0.15 mS/a) even for the most pessimistic scenario.

O método ZOPP e a organização do trabalho interprofissional voltado à atenção ao pré-natal em duas unidades de atenção básica

RESUMO O objetivo deste estudo foi descrever a aplicação do método ZOPP (Planejamento de Projetos Orientado por Objetivos) em duas unidades de atenção básica, levando em consideração o desenvolvimento de competências para o trabalho interprofissional e a produção de um protocolo de organização de serviço voltado à atenção ao pré-natal. Aplicou-se o método da observação participante durante doze sessões gravadas em vídeo. Participaram oito profissionais de saúde e duas usuárias do Sistema Único de Saúde. O método foi avaliado positivamente ao trazer questões nucleares para problematização e pela capacidade de manter o envolvimento dos participantes, tendo se mostrado flexível e adequado, além de ter favorecido a indissociabilidade entre analisar, planejar e implementar ações, o que despertou compromissos éticos e recuperou comportamentos inovadores no encaminhamento da solução de problemas, fortalecendo a colaboração interprofissional.

Maturing Sino-Saudi strategic relations and changing dynamics in the Gulf

ABSTRACTAs the dynamics in the Middle East continue to fluctuate, powerful regional actors like Saudi Arabia and Iran have looked to other powers in the international order to help counter the growing influence of regional rivals. This is most demonstrated by the developing economic and political partnership between China and Saudi Arabia. This article offers an exploration of how Saudi Arabia has sought to use its relationship with China as a means of counterbalancing and limiting Iranian power projection in the region. It explores the triangular relationship between China, Saudi Arabia and Iran, and shows the growth in economic and political relations at the expense of established Sino-Iranian energy relations. Furthermore, it will illustrate how this relationship will have regional and international implications in the Gulf. This article demonstrates Saudi Arabia’s influence in the Sino-Saudi relationship with reference to its position on the Iranian nuclear issue and UN Resolution 1929. It concludes that despite a failure for Saudi Arabia to directly influence Chinese decision-making processes, this event sets a precedent that will continue to mature as Sino-Saudi relations further deepen into a strong strategic partnership and will have repercussions for the balance of power in the Gulf and Middle East.

Pembentukan Aliansi Keamanan Iran-Rusia

Russia and Iran are countries with high cooperative relations. However, in recent years, Russia-Iran relations have declined. This is due to the Iranian nuclear issue, which at the time Russia was present as a party that gives UN sanctions to Iran. Despite of this fact, by 2015, Russia and Iran signed a military cooperation agreement signaling the establishment of a Russian-Iranian security alliance. The author sees that there is a puzzle, namely the establishment of the security alliance even though Russia has helped to put pressure on Iran. Furthermore, the authors argue that there are several reasons or factors for the formation of the Russian-Iranian security alliance. In explaining this, this writing will borrow the theory Balance of Threat proposed by Stephen M. Walt. Thus, this paper will be divided into several parts. First, will be presented on the background of the problem and the theoretical framework to be used. Then, it will be explained about the discussion of factors that encourage the formation of the Russian-Iranian security alliance. In the last section will be closed with a conclusion.

US–Russia relations and the future of arms control: how the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty could restore engagement on nuclear issues

ABSTRACTRelations between the United States and Russia are in a prolonged downward spiral. Under these circumstances, cooperation on nuclear issues—once a reliable area of engagement even in difficult political environments—has all but completely halted. There are urgent reasons to find a way out of this situation, particularly the expiration of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty in 2021. However, seemingly intractable disagreements about noncompliance with the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty and US ballistic-missile defense, compounded by the Ukraine crisis, the conflict in Syria, and the accusations of Russian interference in the US election of 2016, threaten the future of arms control. Against this backdrop, policy makers and practitioners should identify ways to re-engage on nuclear issues now so they can be ready to implement them as soon as feasible. This article considers how the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) could serve as a platform for US–Russia cooperation on nuclear issues when circumstances permit. Taking into account the challenges posed by ongoing US non-ratification, it identifies a menu of CTBT-related activities short of ratification that the two countries could undertake together. It explores how joint work on this issue would advance shared US and Russian interests while helping to create the circumstances necessary for further arms-control work.

Nuclear Arms Race in South Asia? – An Analysis

Ever since India and Pakistan conducted their nuclear tests in 1998, it has been the favourite pastime of many analysts writing on nuclear issues to cast the strategic stability in South Asia in da...

Another Side of North Korea: Business for Profit

As one of the remaining five communist countries on earth, North Korea became infamous in recent years with its nuclear issues with the outside world and political instability inside the country. This paper, looks at North Korea from a different angle to identify its strengths and potentials in the future to become a productive global citizen by identifying five key factors; (1) untapped underground resources, (2) economic geography favorable for effective supply chain via land routes, (3) affordable labor force with discipline and education, (4) people’s desire to achieve economic wellbeing, and (5) latent needs of variety of consumer goods.

북한 핵 문제의 평화적 해결을 위한 억제방안 연구

북한 핵 문제의 평화적 해결을 위한 억제방안 연구

DUKUNGAN TIONGKOK TERHADAP PENGEMBANGAN NUKLIR DI IRAN PADA MASA PEMERINTAHAN HU JINTAO

This study aims to determine how the Chinese support towards nuclear development in Iran during the leadership of President Hu Jintao. Researchers conducting research ranging from how the relationship between China and Iran in general to the Chinese attitude forms specifically on nuclear development in Iran. Researchers using qualitative research methods with methods of descriptive analysis. Data obtained through the study of literature that researchers get while doing research into Indonesian Institute of Sciences and the embassy of China and Iran at Indonesia. The results of this study, explained that China pledged its full support for Iran's nuclear development for peaceful purpose and there is no indication to make weapons of mass destruction. In accordance with the policy of Hu Jintao in which Iran is a signatory to the non-proliferation treaty that has the right to develop peaceful nuclear aims, and if Iran violated the law on the nuclear issue, it must be done with diplomacy without having to give sanctions and pressure on Iran. The conclusion that can be drawn that China and Iran have a mutual dependency in order to meet the national interests of the country, so that the two countries support each other.

Sino-Iranian Asymmetrical Interdependence in Light of the Iran Nuclear Issue

This article studies how the asymmetrically interdependent Sino-Iranian relationship evolved in light of two major events that both introduced a new phase of the Iran Nuclear Issue: the implementation of the US, EU and UN sanctions on Iran (2010), and the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (2016). Specifically, it answers the research question: How did the asymmetrically interdependent relationship between Iran and China developed during the three phases of the Iran Nuclear Issue: the pre-sanctions period (2004–2010), the sanctions period (2010 to January 2016), and the period after the implementation of the JCPOA (2016 and 2017)? It provides Keohane and Nye’s definition of asymmetrical interdependence, and uses this definition of asymmetrical interdependence as an analytical tool to select three major areas of connectivity in the Sino-Iranian relationship. These are [1] Commercial Ties, consisting of [1a] Energy Ties, [1b]; Military Cooperation (i.e., arms trade), and, [1c] EU-Iranian Trade as a percentage of Sino-Iranian trade, [2] Technological Comparative Advantage, Assistance, and Cooperation consisting of [2a] Infrastructure, and [2b] Technology, and [3] Additional Strategic Value, which consists of subsections [3a] Additional Strategic Assets, and [3b] Ideological Value. By means of analysis of these categories, this article concludes that, overall, in the period after the 2010 United States, European Union and United Nations Security Council sanctions on Iran came into effect (2011–2015), Iran was more asymmetrically dependent on China than it had been before this event (2004–2010). Nevertheless, this surplus of asymmetrical dependence on China has decreased significantly because of the implementation of the JCPOA (2016–2017).

Does Official Development Assistance Promote Foreign Policy Cooperation from its Recipients? The Case of South Korea

This paper examines whether South Korea's official development assistance (ODA) has promoted foreign policy cooperation from its recipients. To this end, vote congruence between South Korea and its ODA recipients over important issues in the UN General Assembly is analyzed. The results show that, as the size of South Korea's ODA increases, its recipients are likely to vote alongside South Korea on issues important to South Korea, such as nuclear issues, human rights, and resolutions on human rights abuses in North Korea, in the UN General Assembly.

김정은 정권의 생존전략 딜레마를 활용한 북핵 문제 해결 방안

김정은 정권의 생존전략 딜레마를 활용한 북핵 문제 해결 방안