6 - Latency

Summary

A core promise of the nuclear nonproliferation regime is that it will provide nonnuclear weapons states with access to civilian nuclear technology. At the same time, nonproliferation advocates see the regime as a major tool in limiting the development of this dual-use technology and the spread of nuclear weapons. This chapter examines the effect of membership in the nonproliferation regime on the provision of nuclear latency – the underlying capability to quickly acquire a nuclear weapon. Using data and findings from the previous chapters, it shows that regime membership, for all its positive effects, comes at the cost of contributing to members’ latent nuclear capability.