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Going Nuclear: Nuclear Proliferation And International Security in the 21st Century
These essays offer conceptual, historical, and analytical perspectives on one of the most significant challenges to global security in the twenty-first century: controlling nuclear proliferation.
The spread of nuclear weapons is one of the most significant challenges to global security in the twenty-first century. Limiting the proliferation of nuclear weapons and materials may be the key to preventing a nuclear war or a catastrophic act of nuclear terrorism. Going Nuclear offers conceptual, historical, and analytical perspectives on current problems in controlling nuclear proliferation. It includes essays that examine why countries seek nuclear weapons as well as studies of the nuclear programs of India, Pakistan, and South Africa. The final section of the book offers recommendations for responding to the major contemporary proliferation challenges: keeping nuclear weapons and materials out of the hands of terrorists, ensuring that countries that renounce nuclear weapons never change their minds, and cracking down on networks that illicitly spread nuclear technologies.
Nearly all the chapters in this book have been previously published in the journal International Security. It contains a new preface and one chapter commissioned specifically for the volume, Matthew Bunn's Nuclear Terrorism: A Strategy for Prevention.
Contributors
Samina Ahmed, Chaim Braun, Matthew Bunn, Christopher F. Chyba, Matthew Fuhrmann, Sumit Ganguly, S. Paul Kapur, Ariel E. Levite, Peter Liberman, Austin Long, Sean M. Lynn-Jones, Alexander H. Montgomery, Gaukhar Mukhatzhanova, William C. Potter, Whitney Raas, Scott D. Sagan, Etel Solingen
The spread of nuclear weapons is one of the most significant challenges to global security in the twenty-first century. Limiting the proliferation of nuclear weapons and materials may be the key to preventing a nuclear war or a catastrophic act of nuclear terrorism. Going Nuclear offers conceptual, historical, and analytical perspectives on current problems in controlling nuclear proliferation. It includes essays that examine why countries seek nuclear weapons as well as studies of the nuclear programs of India, Pakistan, and South Africa. The final section of the book offers recommendations for responding to the major contemporary proliferation challenges: keeping nuclear weapons and materials out of the hands of terrorists, ensuring that countries that renounce nuclear weapons never change their minds, and cracking down on networks that illicitly spread nuclear technologies.
Nearly all the chapters in this book have been previously published in the journal International Security. It contains a new preface and one chapter commissioned specifically for the volume, Matthew Bunn's Nuclear Terrorism: A Strategy for Prevention.
Contributors
Samina Ahmed, Chaim Braun, Matthew Bunn, Christopher F. Chyba, Matthew Fuhrmann, Sumit Ganguly, S. Paul Kapur, Ariel E. Levite, Peter Liberman, Austin Long, Sean M. Lynn-Jones, Alexander H. Montgomery, Gaukhar Mukhatzhanova, William C. Potter, Whitney Raas, Scott D. Sagan, Etel Solingen
474 pages, Paperback
First published November 17, 2006
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About the author
Michael E. Brown
56 books5 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Michael E. Brown is an American academic and Professor of International Affairs, Political Science, and Gender Studies at the George Washington University. He served as Dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs from 2005 to 2015. Brown holds a Ph.D. in Government from Cornell University and has held senior roles at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, Harvard’s Belfer Center, and Georgetown University. His research focuses on international security. Known for his distinctive orange necktie, Brown has become a recognizable figure on campus—except during Halloween week, when he sets it aside.
Michael E. Brown is an American academic and Professor of International Affairs, Political Science, and Gender Studies at the George Washington University. He served as Dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs from 2005 to 2015. Brown holds a Ph.D. in Government from Cornell University and has held senior roles at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, Harvard’s Belfer Center, and Georgetown University. His research focuses on international security. Known for his distinctive orange necktie, Brown has become a recognizable figure on campus—except during Halloween week, when he sets it aside.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 29, 2026
Reading this in 2026, it is now very dated. The history pieces are still good, but the analysis and conclusions are from 16 years ago, under different political and economic situations.
July 16, 2011
The book is a collection of scholarly articles on various aspects of nuclear proliferation in the post-Cold War era. The book in particular focuses on the causes and effects of the nuclear capabilities of India and Pakistan, and contains a section on the voluntary nuclear disarmament of South Africa. There are also articles on future threats of proliferation such as the activities of terrorist organizations.
The articles, although written in an academic style, are relatively easy to understand to the non-expert. The book gives a good sense of the factors that can go into when a country decides to pursue nuclear weapons, such as perceived external threats, internal politics, and international norms. It also gives various viewpoints on how to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, such as employing both punitive measures for nuclear ambition and rewards for nuclear disarmament. This book succeeds in giving a good variety of topics that describe the causes and effects of nuclear proliferation and ways to prevent it for the non-expert.
The articles, although written in an academic style, are relatively easy to understand to the non-expert. The book gives a good sense of the factors that can go into when a country decides to pursue nuclear weapons, such as perceived external threats, internal politics, and international norms. It also gives various viewpoints on how to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, such as employing both punitive measures for nuclear ambition and rewards for nuclear disarmament. This book succeeds in giving a good variety of topics that describe the causes and effects of nuclear proliferation and ways to prevent it for the non-expert.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews