Keep your enemies safer: technical cooperation and transferring nuclear safety and security technologies
| Published date | 01 December 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/13540661241246622 |
| Author | Jeffrey Ding |
| Date | 01 December 2024 |
E
JR
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https://doi.org/10.1177/13540661241246622
European Journal of
International Relations
2024, Vol. 30(4) 918 –945
© The Author(s) 2024
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DOI: 10.1177/13540661241246622
journals.sagepub.com/home/ejt
Keep your enemies safer:
technical cooperation and
transferring nuclear safety and
security technologies
Jeffrey Ding
George Washington University, USA
Abstract
Even during the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union cooperated on nuclear
safety and security. Since accidental or unauthorized nuclear detonations anywhere
threaten peace everywhere, it seems straightforward that states more experienced in
developing nuclear safety and security technologies would transfer such methods to
other states. Yet, the historical record is mixed. Why? While existing explanations focus
on the political costs and proliferation risks faced by the transferring state, this article
argues that specific technological features condition the feasibility of assistance. For
more complex nuclear safety and security technologies, robust technical cooperation
is crucial to build the necessary trust for scientists to transfer tacit knowledge without
divulging sensitive information. Leveraging elite interviews and archival evidence, my
theory is supported by four case studies: US sharing of basic nuclear safety and security
technologies with the Soviet Union (1961–1963); US withholding of complex nuclear
safety and security technologies from China (1990–1999) and Pakistan (1998–2003);
and US sharing of complex nuclear safety and security technologies with Russia (1994–
2007). My findings suggest the need to examine not only the motivations behind nuclear
assistance but also the process by which it occurs and the features of the technologies
involved, with implications for how states cooperate to manage the global risks of
emerging technologies.
Keywords
Nuclear diplomacy, emerging technologies, transnational cooperation, nuclear
proliferation, International Relations, technology transfer
Corresponding author:
Jeffrey Ding, Department of Political Science, George Washington University, Monroe Hall, 2115 G St. NW,
Washington, DC 20052, USA.
Email: jeffreyding@gwu.edu
1246622EJT0010.1177/13540661241246622European Journal of International RelationsDing
research-article2024
Original Article
Ding 919
Introduction
Even during the fiercest period of technological competition in the Cold War, the United
States took great pains to help the Soviet Union in one technological domain: nuclear
safety and security. While no protective measure is a cure-all, states have developed
methods to reduce risks associated with accidental nuclear detonations (safety technolo-
gies) and unauthorized use of nuclear weapons (security technologies). For example,
environmental sensing devices (ESDs) that differentiate between normal weapon trajec-
tories and abnormal ones (e.g. a fall from a loading truck) can enhance nuclear safety. In
the nuclear security domain, the United States shared information with the Soviet Union
on permissive action links (PALs), electro-mechanical locks that limit unauthorized
launches by requiring the input of an enabling code.
An accidental or unauthorized nuclear explosion anywhere threatens peace every-
where. Thus, it seems straightforward that states more experienced in developing nuclear
safety and security technologies would transfer such methods to other states. In a crisis,
states may misinterpret a nuclear accident as an attack, leading to unintended escalation.
States should also be invested in other states’ nuclear security, including that of hostile
rivals, to reduce the likelihood of an unintentional nuclear war. Regarding PALs, Harold
Agnew, former director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, once stated, “Anybody
who joins the club should be helped to get this. Whether it’s India or Pakistan or China
or Iran, the most important thing is that you want to make sure there is no unauthorized
use” (Sanger and Broad, 2007).
The historical record, however, is mixed. While the United States shared nuclear
safety and security technologies with Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and Russia, it
withheld key techniques from China and Pakistan (Caldwell, 1987; Feaver, 1992b;
Ullman, 1989). Even in cases when the United States ultimately provided nuclear safety
and security assistance, key participants seemed almost bewildered by the presence of
any resistance. For instance, John H. Morse (1971), former US Deputy Assistant
Secretary of Defense for European and NATO affairs, once commented on nuclear coop-
eration with France,
The subject is safety of nuclear weapons wherein as a matter of principle we should be working
closely with interested allies at all times anyway, and even with our potential enemies on
occasions. I find it hard to understand why we have not pressed this matter before.
Why do states withhold nuclear safety and security technologies from other states?
Existing studies address this puzzle by further unpacking the motivations of the transfer-
ring state. They point out that the decision to share nuclear safety and security technolo-
gies is more complicated than meets the eye. Transferring states must also grapple with
the disadvantages of this type of assistance, including proliferation risks and political
costs. First, sharing nuclear safety and security technologies could signal approval of
nuclear weapons, incentivizing other states to cross the nuclear threshold. Another
related concern is that, after they receive help on guarding against accidental and unau-
thorized use, recipient states will adopt riskier nuclear postures. Transferring states also
face political consequences. When deliberating over nuclear safety and security
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