Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 10/2012

A Regional Approach to WMD Nonproliferation in the Asia-Pacific

Togzhan Kassenova

August 2012

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Abstract

The Asia-Pacific region epitomizes the type of proliferation challenges the international community faces. Globalization turned the region into one of the most important international trade hubs, the home to leading dual-use companies, and the anticipated site of the world’s most significant growth in nuclear energy. While those trends are beneficial, they also create new sources of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) proliferation.