The catalyst for this study was the Fukushima-Daiichi major nuclear accident of 11 March 2011. In this event, a severe earthquake and15 metre tsunami caused serious damage and equipment failures at Japan's Fukushima 1 Nuclear Power Plant which were judged by the International Atomic Energy Agency to be equally as serious as the Soviet Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986. Against a background of nuclear hesitancy and reassessment, the prospect of including or excluding nuclear power in a low-carbon twenty-first century world is now increasingly critical. It is in this emerging scenario and context that this book presents a full suite of historical, contemporary and projected data. Its use of complementary and comparative country-based case studies provides ample opportunity for developing strongly illustrative analysis of policy effectiveness in diverse polities and markets. In this way, it combines clear, comprehensive and rigorously science-based evidence, analysis and interpretation of data, all leading to conclusions and policy recommendations. Furthermore, it builds an understanding of the complexities and many challenges posed by the nuclear power option.

Australia and the United States have found themselves fighting common enemies on the battlefields of the world for over half a century. Australian ground forces have repeatedly stood shoulder-to-shoulder with American troops in conflicts from Korea and Vietnam to Afghanistan - and now in the 2003 Iraq war. This study looks closely at the key factors which, for over fifty years, have shaped, interpreted and applied the aims and aspirations of this mutual defence agreement to the real world of shifting threats, changing strategic balances and the democratic uncertainties of domestic politics. A departure from the current literature, the ANZUS alliance, now updated to take account of the new post 11 September 2001 realities, is presented as an accessible and concise survey of this often neglected but increasingly important trans-Pacific link between the American giant and its durable Australian ally. Suitable as supplementary reading at the 3rd year undergraduate and postgraduate levels of courses studying international relations generally, but also useful for those engaged with elements of global and regional security, and strategic defence analysis.

A comprehensive exploration of how national and state security policy is effected by the production, storage, transportation, safeguarding, export and use of enriched uranium - and, by extension, plutonium. A wide range of geopolitical, security and technical issues are examined, as are the challenges presented to national and global governance. This book contributes to a new understanding of one of the most serious security implications inherent in the current rapid growth in nuclear power generation. It assesses attempts made to deal with the latent dangers to Homeland Security posed by potential misuse of enriched uranium and plutonium, considering both the chances for success, and the costs of failure.

Australia and the United States have found themselves fighting common enemies on the battlefields of the world for over half a century. Australian ground forces have repeatedly stood shoulder-to-shoulder with American troops in conflicts from Korea and Vietnam to Afghanistan - and now in the 2003 Iraq war. This study looks closely at the key factors which, for over fifty years, have shaped, interpreted and applied the aims and aspirations of this mutual defence agreement to the real world of shifting threats, changing strategic balances and the democratic uncertainties of domestic politics. A departure from the current literature, the ANZUS alliance, now updated to take account of the new post 11 September 2001 realities, is presented as an accessible and concise survey of this often neglected but increasingly important trans-Pacific link between the American giant and its durable Australian ally. Suitable as supplementary reading at the 3rd year undergraduate and postgraduate levels of courses studying international relations generally, but also useful for those engaged with elements of global and regional security, and strategic defence analysis.