ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the concept of opaque proliferation as the ideal type of second generation proliferation. The emergence of the opaque model of proliferation is a more recent and complex phenomenon in international relations. Israel serves as a role model for that pattern of proliferation and its example was followed, with variations, by other second generation proliferators. On the theoretical level, the chapter examines the current vocabulary used to discuss nuclear proliferation. On the empirical level, it utilizes the concept of opaque proliferation to describe the nuclear behavior of Israel. The chapter outlines briefly the effect opaque proliferation is likely to have on the non-proliferation regime; the institution of deterrence; democracy; and the questions of technological creep and bureaucratic momentum. It concludes with a brief discussion of some issues – theoretical and empirical – that are highlighted as the reality of opaque proliferation unfolds.
