Date
5-22-2024
Department
Helms School of Government
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Criminal Justice (PhD)
Chair
Jared Perry
Keywords
Nuclear proliferation, nuclear material, terrorist organizations, organized crime syndicates, Homeland Security, critical infrastructure and key resources
Disciplines
History | Law
Recommended Citation
Harvey, Renae Katherine, "The Nuclear Threat: A Homeland Security Perspective" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 5609.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5609
Abstract
On December 8, 1987, the United States and Russia signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Since then, it has been a common misconception that this solidified the end of the Cold War and the Nuclear Arms Race. To this day, nuclear installations are plaguing bordering countries within the European Union. As a result, severe transnational issues become evident as transnational crime groups grow and technological advancements of terrorist groups continue to gain ground within the nuclear power threshold. Furthermore, countries within the Asian Peninsula and the Middle East continue to demonstrate nuclear prowess via mass media attention as a sense of glorification and societal threat. Since the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, four reviews of internal and external nuclear policies including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Nuclear Posture Review have been completed by the United States. The purpose of each review is to assess nuclear threats and deploy policy initiatives to prevent adversary actions. The primary focus of this study was to establish a comprehensive qualitative analysis of the movement and illegal proliferation of nuclear material. The study highlights the dangers of the proliferation of both nuclear material and nuclear weapons by organized crime syndicates and terrorist groups and correlates their effect to important United States assets. This was completed through a comprehensive document analysis of missing nuclear material in conjunction with confiscated material found to be distributed by these groups. The results of this study provide the Department of Homeland Security resources in preventing nuclear proliferation by internal and external groups in an effort to assure the protection of United States critical infrastructure and key resources.
