Publication

This chapter focuses on the role of scientists in the establishment and development of apartheid South Africa’s NBC programs. It attempts to understand the factors that influenced the decision-making process in relation to the initiation and development of those programs and the role that scientists played. The chapter briefly sets out the history of the South African nuclear weapons program and the chemical and biological weapons programs, which followed significantly different courses during their establishment and dismantlement. The chapter concludes by identifying lessons from the South African experience for other countries engaged in activities that may skirt the limits of acceptability under international non-proliferation and disarmament regimes.