ABSTRACT
The pathway to nuclear security for Brazil in the Third Nuclear Age is not about utilising nuclear weapons for security (as some have feared in the past), but is instead characterised by a commitment to disarmament and a more equitable global nuclear order. At the centre of the Brazilian approach is a determination to make the country independent when it comes to nuclear technology and avoid reliance on other states and established governance architectures that are often seen as unfair and unjust towards non-developed and non-Western countries. At the same time, there is clearly a desire to protest against the rules and regulations that define the current nuclear order and the established “nuclear club,” and to make sure that the structures of global nuclear governance work for all states within the system, not just the most powerful. The indigenous Brazilian nuclear submarine programme, support for the TPNW and resistance to intrusive inspections and safeguards will all have a significant impact on the evolving shape of the Third Nuclear Age.
