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Burma with the Bomb?
Will Burma become the next nation to obtain nuclear weapon technology?
That is the question posed by Ryan Kaminski (MIA ’11) in a paper he presented to the Southern Political Science Association in January 2011.
In his paper, “Going Rogue: The Strategic Framework of Burma’s Quest for the Bomb,” Kaminski says scholars and analysts need only look at the success of North Korea and South Africa in the development of nuclear technology in the face of economic barriers and severe international isolation. He says his paper is intended to provide a threat assessment in the hope of prodding future research.
Kaminski is concentrating in International Security Policy at SIPA. He wrote the paper for Professor Abraham Wagner’s class on national security and technology, and presented it before a panel of scholars and fellow students at the 84th annual Southern Political Science Association conference in New Orleans.
Kaminski writes “…Burma’s government has two interrelated political and military motives for possessing nuclear weapons including enhancing the junta’s prestige and legitimacy and defending Burma from what its leaders consider a probable foreign invasion.”
He also contends a nuclear Burma would risk accidents, theft, or even the use of nuclear weapons within its own borders. It would likely destabilize Southeast Asia and present major challenges to global non-proliferation efforts, he writes.
Kaminski, who hopes to pursue a Ph.D., says his research sprang from his personal experiences in Burma and his concentration’s focus on nuclear proliferation.
“Presenting before a panel of such distinguished scholars teaches you to be ready for criticism,” he said. “The discussion included lots of Q-and-A, and it was a great networking experience.”
Alex Burnett, February 1, 2011