ABSTRACT
Australia takes pride in its tradition as an activist middle power with global influence. This tradition is particularly felt in nuclear policy, where Australia has a reputation as a ‘champion’ of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime. That regime itself is a consequence of the basic ‘dual-use’ dilemma of nuclear technology, whose promise for economic development inevitably brings with it the dangers of military application. Hence, nuclear policy bridges three related but distinct domains: first, the strategic domain, where nuclear weapons states (NWS) and their allies, including Australia, seek to use the deterrent effect of nuclear weapons to maintain vital security interests; second, the economic domain, which is dominated by the use of nuclear technology to generate power in nuclear reactors; and third, the normative domain, where the ideals of nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament have been embedded in a global regime, centred on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). How successive Australian governments have attempted to effectively manage Australian engagement with, and interests in, these three distinct but intimately related domains is the subject of this book.
