Iran’s nuclear file: Recommendations for the future

The global nuclear order is changing, but where is it headed? Will the expected expansion of nuclear power in many regions around the world lead to increased dangers of nuclear terrorism and increased risks of nuclear weapons proliferation? As  we noted in our introduction in volume 1,1 the common answer provided by the diverse international group of contributors  to this twovolume special issue of Dædalus is that it depends: it depends on how quickly and how widely nuclear power spreads to new countries; it depends on the domestic political and governance characteristics of the new nuclear power states; it depends on whether terrorists’ plans to attack nuclear sites or steal nuclear materials succeed or fail; and, crucially, it depends on the steps taken by the international community to improve the safety mechanisms, physical protection standards, and  nonproliferation safeguards that make up the tapestry of agreements that we call the nonproliferation regime.