Argentine nuclear development: capabilities and implications

Complacency was shattered in 1974 by the Indian explosion of a nuclear device developed from a civil nuclear program. The fear of nuclear weapon spread led the international system to consider the other states that could develop devices from what were assumed to be peaceful nuclear programs. Many states of the non-nuclear ranks, often the more developed states of the Third World, resented the nuclear suppliers weapon holders dictating to the developing states the types of technology that these states could handle. Some of these developing states had highly sophisticated nuclear programs that no longer rely on the suppliers for assistance. These states are using the options that their nuclear developments present in an attempt to alter the international system, or the balance of power, that has existed since the end of World War II. Argentina's nuclear program has become one of the most-sophisticated in the Third World. This work discusses the implications of the country's present capabilities as they affect Argentine actions in the foreign policy areas of nuclear commerce and the international nuclear weapons non-proliferation regime