Out of (South) Africa: Pretoria`s nuclear weapons experience. Final report

Technical Report · Wed Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1998

OSTI ID:698755

Horton, R E

The primary focus of this paper is the impact of key South African leaders on the successful developments and subsequent rollbacks of South Africa`s nuclear weapons capability. It highlights the key milestones in the development of South Africa`s nuclear weapon capability. It also relates how different groups within South Africa (scientists, politicians, military and technocrats) interacted to successfully produce South Africa`s nuclear deterrent. It emphasizes the pivotal influence of the senior political leadership to pursue nuclear rollback given the disadvantages of its nuclear means to achieve vital national interests. The conclusions drawn from flu`s effort are the South African nuclear program was an extreme response to its own identity Crisis. Nuclear weapons became a means to achieving a long term end of a closer affiliation with the West. A South Africa yearning to be identified as a Western nation and receive guarantees of its security rationalized the need for a nuclear deterrent. The deterrent was intended to draw in Western support to counter a feared total onslaught by Communist forces in the region. Two decades later, that same South Africa relinquished its nuclear deterrent and reformed its domestic policies to secure improved economic and political integration with the West.

• Research Organization: Air Force Academy, CO (United States)
• OSTI ID: 698755
• Report Number(s): AD-A--367198/XAB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
35 ARMS CONTROL
FOREIGN POLICY
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
NEGOTIATION
NUCLEAR DETERRENCE
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
PROLIFERATION
SOUTH AFRICA