Botching the Bomb: The Self-Defeating Behaviors of Proliferant States
Dr. Jacques E. C. Hymans

Friday, December 16, 2015

Despite the global spread of nuclear hardware and knowledge, at least half of the nuclear weapons projects launched since 1970 have definitively ended short of the bomb, and even the successful projects have generally needed far more time than expected. To explain this puzzling slowdown in proliferation, Jacques E. C. Hymans focuses on the relations between developing country politicians and their scientific and technical workers. By undermining workers' autonomy and spirit of professionalism, developing country rulers unintentionally thwart their own nuclear ambitions.

Dr. Jacques E.C. Hymans is an Associate Professor of International Relations at the University of Southern California. His most recent book, Achieving Nuclear Ambitions: Scientists, Politicians, and Proliferation (Cambridge University Press, 2012) was honored with the Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order, as well as best book awards from the National Academy of Public Administration and the American Political Science Association. Dr. Hymans’ first book, The Psychology of Nuclear Proliferation: Identity, Emotions, and Foreign Policy (Cambridge University Press, 2006) was honored with best book awards from the International Society of Political Psychology and the Ohio State Mershon Center for International Security Studies.

Botching the Bomb: The Self-Defeating Behaviors of Proliferant States

The Center for Global Security Research (CGSR) sponsored this seminar entitled "Botching the Bomb: The Self-Defeating Behaviors of Proliferant States" on Dec. 16, 2015, at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The seminar was presented by Jacques E.C. Hymans, associate professor of International Relations at the University of Southern California.

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