Christopher Newport University Professor
Assesses the Continuing Menace of Nuclear ProliferationNews Release - September 28, 2004
contact:
Denise Waters
dwaters@cnu.edu
(757) 594-7331
(NEWPORT NEWS, VA) — The subject of nuclear proliferation has become one of the most pressing issues in international security and U.S. foreign policy in recent years. For most of the last decade, Nathan E. Busch, assistant professor of government and public affairs at Christopher Newport University, has studied the safety and management of nuclear-weapons operations across the globe.
In his new book, No End in Sight: The Continuing Menace of Nuclear Proliferation, published by the University of Kentucky Press, Busch assesses the international debate over the risks associated with the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the post-Cold War world.
"Scholars are divided into roughly two schools: proliferation 'optimists,' who believe that proliferation can be beneficial and that its associated hazards are not that significant - or are at least surmountable - and proliferation 'pessimists,' who believe the opposite," explained Busch.
"What the optimists and the pessimists disagree about," said Busch, "is the likelihood of the use of these weapons, and the scale of their use, either intentionally or accidentally."
Using a wide range of sources, including recently declassified information, Busch analyzes the nuclear programs of the United States, Russia, China, Pakistan, India, and the burgeoning nuclear capacities of Iran and North Korea. Dr. Peter Lavoy, director of the Center for Contemporary Conflict at the Naval Postgraduate School, calls No End in Sight "the most comprehensive study of global nuclear safety and security currently available."
Busch received his M.A. in Political Science at Michigan State University and completed his Ph.D. in International Relations at the University of Toronto in 2001. Busch has served as a research fellow at Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and as a graduate research assistant at Los Alamos National Laboratory. He comes to Christopher Newport University from the University of Georgia. His research interests include international relations theory, international security, foreign policy, and international conflict.
Busch and his book were recently featured in The Chronicle of Higher Education, the Daily Press and Busch was a guest on The Chronicle's Colloquy Live (download transcript). No End in Sight is available through amazon.com, the University of Kentucky Press, at the CNU Bookstore and Barnes & Noble stores in Williamsburg and Newport News.
Christopher Newport University is a four-year public university in Newport News, Virginia. CNU enrolls nearly 4,800 students through its College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the School of Business. CNU's faculty and staff of nearly 1,000 focus on "students first," outstanding teaching, access and opportunity, and liberal learning. CNU is committed to leadership in the community and the Commonwealth.