| This thesis looks to answer a two-part question. First, are states aspiring to nuclear energy for the first time as a part of the purported nuclear revival doing so with the intention of acquiring a latent nuclear weapons capability? And second, does the nuclear revival as a consequence have a high risk of nuclear weapons proliferation? To do so it will analyze the drivers of and barriers to new nuclear energy programs, apply major theories of proliferation and explore the technical connection between nuclear energy and weapons. It will then apply those understandings to a global survey of aspiring nuclear energy states in order to identify and further examine states that appear particularly predisposed towards being motivated by a desire for nuclear weapons. By doing so, this research can contribute to our understanding of the connection between nuclear energy and nuclear weapons, and provide a balanced assessment of some of the possible security implications of the spread of nuclear energy. |
