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Iraq Explores the Atom, 1956–1973

Målfrid Braut-Hegghammer

in Unclear Physics: Why Iraq and Libya Failed to Build Nuclear Weapons

This chapter explores the origins of the Iraqi nuclear weapons program and traces its fate between the 1958 coup d'état, the decisive ascent of the Baath regime in 1968, and Saddam Hussein's ... More

This chapter explores the origins of the Iraqi nuclear weapons program and traces its fate between the 1958 coup d'état, the decisive ascent of the Baath regime in 1968, and Saddam Hussein's restructuring of the Iraqi Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC) in 1973. The analysis of these two highlights Iraq's nascent state capacity and management strategies that shaped the nuclear program during its initial formative stages, namely, the absence of strong leadership: the earliest nuclear weapons ambitions were articulated by scientists, not the senior leadership. As Iraq began to explore nuclear science and technology, the state lacked the institutional capacity to plan and oversee these activities.Less

The Nehru-Bhabha Years, 1947–64

Ashok Kapur

in Pokhran and Beyond: India's Nuclear Weapons Capability

This chapter studies the events that occurred from 1947 to 1964, which are significant in the study of Indian nuclear history. It takes a look at the dominant role played by the political class ... More

This chapter studies the events that occurred from 1947 to 1964, which are significant in the study of Indian nuclear history. It takes a look at the dominant role played by the political class (expressed by J.L. Nehru) and the scientific class (expressed by Homi J. Bhabha), and then summarizes the pattern of nuclear development in India during the Nehru-Bhabha years. The next section examines the three themes of Nehru's nuclear policy. Two diagrams illustrate the process and structure of the nuclear debate and the decision process for nuclear science policies. The chapter concludes with some theoretical considerations of the ‘dominant-subordinate state system’ paradigm. The internal governmental debate on the military uses of atomic energy is also addressed.Less

Introduction: The Silent Quake

in The Pontecorvo Affair: A Cold War Defection and Nuclear Physics

Bruno Pontecorvo was a scientist, who disappeared with his family in Finland during a holiday trip. More information was gathered about his location (Soviet Russia) in the following months. ... More

Bruno Pontecorvo was a scientist, who disappeared with his family in Finland during a holiday trip. More information was gathered about his location (Soviet Russia) in the following months. Pontecorvo was the first and only scientist employed in wartime nuclear projects who in the 1950s crossed the Iron Curtain. His disappearance developed a seismic wave that could be clearly determined by those in the know. In line with this, this book tries to employ the Pontecorvo affair to open the debate on the present understanding of the relation between nuclear science, security, and politics in the early days of the Cold War. It specifically explores Pontecorvo's life and career in combination with developments in nuclear science and technology, and the changes in the setting up of security regulations and practices. An overview of the chapters included in the book is finally given.Less

Conclusions: The Noisy Echo of Secrecy

in The Pontecorvo Affair: A Cold War Defection and Nuclear Physics

This chapter explores how Bruno Pontecorvo's presence in Russia was far more decisive than any information that Soviet intelligence had managed to harness earlier on, and examines the proliferation ... More

This chapter explores how Bruno Pontecorvo's presence in Russia was far more decisive than any information that Soviet intelligence had managed to harness earlier on, and examines the proliferation of accounts about him. It shows how the withdrawal of information from the public domain featured as a key tool of nuclear diplomacy. The chapter illustrates how the utilization of secrecy has impacted the current understanding of important transitions in nuclear science and security. Secrecy was employed in the Pontecorvo case to cover issues that had major implications for the handling of national and international affairs. The Pontecorvo affair reported that the mysteries connected with the spread of nuclear and other military technologies and the unlawful transfer of scientific information cannot be immediately understood, except for some marginal aspects. Revealingly, the new documents on this affair indicated that an intelligence program aimed at tackling atomic espionage may have never really existed.Less

Third World science: Diasporic Dreams and Disillusionment

Shobana Shankar

in An Uneasy Embrace: Africa, India and the Spectre of Race

This chapter argues that African-Indian collaboration in scientific research and its application in development projects intensified cultural competition and nationalism. It features the ... More

This chapter argues that African-Indian collaboration in scientific research and its application in development projects intensified cultural competition and nationalism. It features the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy, founded by Pakistani Nobel laureate Dr. Abdus Salam in 1964. Salam belonged to the Ahmadiyya sect and had family connections to Ghana and Nigeria. He helped scientists facing religious persecution in Pakistan leave South Asia. Such cultural conflicts were hidden aspects of South Asian professional migration to postcolonial Africa. Yet Salam’s devotion to promoting Islamic and Third World collaboration did not fit neatly with aims of African scientists seeking to foster Pan-African knowledge. Conflicts over cultural autonomy and African self-reliance led Black scientists from Africa and the diaspora to establish the Edward Bouchet Institute, named for the first African-American scientist to receive a doctorate in physics.Less