2 - Towards Nuclear Weapons – Away from Safeguards

Summary

Chapter 2 closely examines developments in the South African government’s position on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) from the mid-1970s to 1981. It starts with an overview of the emerging South African defence sector and the government’s growing parallel interest in building a nuclear deterrent. In addition, it also deals with the relationship between Pretoria and Washington, particularly analysing the way in which the United States under President Carter pressured South Africa to accede to the NPT and the continued defiance of non-proliferation norms by the apartheid regime. In general, the South African government experienced more resistance from the United States following Jimmy Carter’s election as President.