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

by Malfrid Braut-Hegghammer

Many authoritarian leaders want nuclear weapons, but few manage to acquire them. Autocrats seeking nuclear weapons fail in different ways and to varying degrees--Iraq almost managed it; Libya did not come close. In Unclear Physics, Malfrid Braut-Hegghammer compares the two failed nuclear weapons programs, showing that state capacity played a crucial role in the trajectory and outcomes of both projects. Braut-Hegghammer draws on a rich set...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1501702785
• ISBN13: 9781501702785
• Release Date: August 2016
• Publisher: Cornell University Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.36 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.3" x 9.1"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher