Iran and the Bomb: The Abdication of International Responsibility (The CERI Series in Comparative Politics and International Studies) (Hardcover)

by Thérèse Delpech (Author), Ros Schwartz (Translator) "The Islamic Republic of Iran is already twenty-eight years old..." (more)
Key Phrases: safeguards agreement, civil nuclear energy programme, centrifuge components, Security Council, North Korea, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[Thérèse Delpech's] authority and autonomy have never faced an outcast's passage through a desert of scorn; instead they are bolstered by private conversations with government leaders, and in 2005 by one of France's major literary awards, the Prix Femina for nonfiction." -- New York Times

"In this book Thérèse Delpech, a UN advisor on proliferation and an intrepid and tenacious researcher, uncloaks the network of collaboration that has enabled Tehran to reach the threshold of having nuclear weapons." -- Le Monde

"Iran's nuclear program has become one of the most burning issues on the international scene. Thérèse Delpech's book comes out at the perfect time to unravel the tangles of the debate, all the more so since the author is intimately familiar with the negotiation process while continuing to speak her mind freely." -- La Croix

"Therese Delpech, one of the world's leading authorities on international nuclear security, dissects Iran's nuclear programme in minute detail." -- The Middle East

"Thérèse Delpech is highly informed about the Iranian nuclear program and the efforts to deal with it, as she has been involved with this challenge for more than a decade. She is a highly regarded strategist and historian of nuclear weapons, and therefore can place the Iranian challenge in several contexts. She offers readers an outstandingly capable and enjoyable guide through a troubling subject, neither avoiding controversy nor diluting her analysis and prose to suit the widest possible taste. Readers will not be bored." -- George Perkovic, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

"[A] wonderfully pugnacious book… sharp book… it is hard to see how this could be bettered." -- Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs

Product Description

The Iranian regime is in the middle of a dangerous nuclear poker game with the West. Drawing on her inside knowledge and experience, Thérèse Delpech provides a hard-hitting analysis of Iran's intentions and its ability to beguile the international community, often with the aid of China and Russia, two countries eager to benefit from Iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons.

Delpech is one of the world's leading authorities on international nuclear security, and in this book, she dissects Iran's program in minute detail. Delpech begins with a history of Iran's nuclear project-which was launched with the help of several Western countries-from the 1970s to today. She examines the reasons behind Iran's renewed interest in nuclear power during its war with Iraq, and the national pride, exemplified by Mahmoud Amadinejad's bellicose rhetoric, that prevents the country from bowing to the dictates of the international community. Then she dissects the strategy of the various actors in this new global crisis: Iran, the commonly termed EU "3" (United Kingdom, France, and Germany), the United States, Russia, China, and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Delpech follows with an analysis of the feasibility, practicality, and political viability of such possible solutions as dismantling by force, supervised third party reprocessing, referral to the United Nations' Security Council, and Iranian appeasement. In conclusion, Delpech unravels the tangled regional and international dimensions of the crisis, detailing the enormous impact of Iran's game on the Persian Gulf, Turkey, the political and military movements of Israel, America's presence in Iraq and the wider Middle East, and the future of the much-weakened Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Columbia University Press (November 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0231700067
• ISBN-13: 978-0231700061
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,016,351 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful overview of Iran's pursuit of the atomic bomb, March 20, 2008

By	Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract.com" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The international landscape offers a few terrifying future scenarios, including the vision of Iran with a nuclear bomb. If this threat came to pass, it would destabilize the entire Middle East, disrupt long-standing relationships, threaten other Arab nations and endanger global oil supplies. Therese Delpech takes you on a guided tour of the international diplomatic confrontations surrounding Iran's persistent, secretive attempts to build a nuclear weapon. This foreign policy nightmare has been building for decades. Yet Iran's new radical fundamentalist Shia government has adopted a policy of stalling, intimidation and obfuscation to hide its nuclear program. So far, it has worked. Iran has thwarted United Nations inspectors and international diplomats who have been unwilling or unable to force it to reveal its true program and intentions. While the book is dry and academic, if you are interested in foreign policy or lead an international business, getAbstract recommends this realistic professional overview.