by Peter Hayes and Roger Cavazos NAPSNet Special Report 2 March 2015 I. SUMMARY In this report Peter Hayes and Roger Cavazos lay out a possible roadmap for North Korea’s nuclear operational force. The authors state: “The laws of physics that determine how nuclear weapons and delivery systems perform are the same in North Korea […]
DETERRENCE: Scary Default Scenarios Based on Faulty Treasury Department Release DPRK: North Korea threatens preemptive attack on U.S., South Korea ENERGY SECURITY: IPCC Issues Stark Warning Over Global Warming: Call to ‘Stop Dithering About Fossil Fuel Cuts’ as Expert Panel Warns Entire Globe is Affected GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SOCIETY: State Clumsy in Managing Conflicts CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: Understanding the Adaptive […]
In this essay, Nikhil Desai explains the fears of anti-nuclear activists in India regarding its government’s alleged violation or weakening of the Indian law on civil nuclear liability as part of the Prime Minister’s visit to Washington, DC the weekend of 27th September 2013. He argues that the government’s opponents refuse to accept the reality of nuclear trade and operations, and should be more concerned about the institutional competence of India to manage the nuclear enterprises, civil or otherwise.
Nikhil Desai is an energy and environmental economist now dividing his time between Washington, DC and Ahmedabad, India. He is a Nautilus Institute Associate and a contributor to Nautilus’ Weekly Report.
In the following Policy Forum Peter Hayes analyzes Preparing for the Possibility of a North Korean Collapse by RAND analyst Bruce Bennett. Hayes states “Bennett’s report is salutary reading and should be read widely, including in Pyongyang. Anyone who hopes (as against feels obliged to prepare) for DPRK collapse or who thinks that “bringing it on” is likely to incur less costs for the most vulnerable populations than transforming the DPRK inside-out as-fast-as-possible via engagement aimed at non-collapse should read chapter 3 on the horrendous humanitarian consequences of a collapse and possible war.”
Peter Hayes is Professor of International Relations, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, Australia and Director, Nautilus Institute.
“Peter Hayes, director of the San Francisco-based Nautilus Institute, says there’s also a debate going on inside the North Korean leadership about the country’s future as a nuclear state. One side wants “to be a nuclear-armed state that is able to behave like the recognized, legal nuclear weapons states and play their game and turn the tables on them,” Hayes said. “That is, in my view, what is going on in the test and the rocket firing,” he said. “The other policy current is associated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the international faction of the Korean Worker’s Party, which is to negotiate our way out of this mess.”
The world paused for thought recently on the second year anniversary of the meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan. And despite a climate of uncertainty that followed, it appears that plans for a nuclear powered future in Asia, remain mostly on track. Taiwan, however, appears to be going against the grain, announcing plans earlier this month to phase out its nuclear program by 2055 at the latest.
So how significant it is that Taiwan has set a date to be nuclear-free?
Speaker: David Von Hippel, Senior Associate at the Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability
