Overview

The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) has been the principal legal barrier to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons for the past forty-five years. It promotes the peaceful uses of nuclear technology and insures, through the application of safeguards inspections conducted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), that those technologies are not being diverted toward the production of nuclear weapons. It is also the only multinational treaty that obligates the five nuclear weapons states that are party to the treaty (China, France, Great Britain, Russia, and the United States) to pursue nuclear disarmament measures. Though there have been many challenges over the years, most would agree that the treaty has largely been successful. However, many are concerned about the continued viability of the NPT. The perceived slow pace of nuclear disarmament, the interest by some countries to consider a weapons program while party to the treaty, and the funding and staffing issues at the IAEA, are all putting considerable strain on the treaty. This manuscript explores those issues and offers some possible solutions to ensure that the NPT will survive effectively for many years to come.

Full Product Details

9781643278148

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

Dr Pella has just retired after being a Physics professor for over 35 years. He spent the last 28 years at Gettysburg College where he was the W K T Sahm Professor of Physics. His research included the study of the spin response of the nuclear force and fundamental properties of the neutron. He has participated in research at the Indiana University Cyclotron Facility, the Bates Linear Accelerator Facility and the Thomas Jefferson Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator facility in medium-energy nuclear physics. He is also involved in issues related to nuclear weapons. His expertise focuses on nuclear nonproliferation, the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, The International Atomic Energy Agency, and nuclear issues involving North Korea and Iran. As a William Foster Fellow from 1994 to 1995, he worked at the United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, from which he received a Meritorious Honor Award for his service in helping to achieve the indefinite extension of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. He also worked at the Bureau of Nonproliferation, US Department of State, from 2000 to 2001 on issues relating to Iraq, North Korea, and The International Atomic Energy Agency. He contributed two chapters (Nuclear Nonproliferation and The International Atomic Energy Agency) to the Oxford International Encyclopedia of Peace published by Oxford University Press in October 2009. He also authored a textbook, Nuclear Weapons, Policy, and Strategy: The Uses of Atomic Energy in an Increasingly Complex World, for a nuclear weapons policy course he had taught for over 30 years. He holds a bachelor's degree in nuclear engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point; a master's degree in experimental nuclear physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; and a doctorate in experimental nuclear physics from Kent State University.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available