Nuclear export controls and the fight against nuclear weapons proliferation

Defence date: 12 June 2012Examining Board: Professor Martin Scheinin, European University Institute (Supervisor); Professor Francesco Francioni, European University Institute; Professor Quentin Michel, University of Liege; Mr. Louis-Victor Bril, European External Action Service, Security Policy Division, European Commission.PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digital archive of EUI PhD thesesCombating nuclear weapons proliferation involves diplomacy, nuclear safety and security, disarmament measures, intelligence, effective safeguards, and many other strategies. One of the most important non-proliferation measures is the control of nuclear trade. Nuclear export controls constitute the various measures managing the trade of nuclear technology, materials, and equipment, and analyzing how to strengthen this important non-proliferation tool forms the research question of this thesis. The observations and arguments presented in the following chapters attest to the conclusion that strengthening export controls to combat the global problem of nuclear proliferation, whether by the activities of informal regimes or states acting bilaterally or multilaterally in the trade of nuclear goods, lies in effectively implementing domestic nuclear export control measures on a national level. The original contribution of this thesis to existing knowledge on the subject is an in-depth, analytical study of the role of nuclear export controls in stemming nuclear weapons proliferation, and in particular the presentation of this topic from a legal dimension in order to propose, throughout the work, tools for viable policy options, as well as the policy options themselves