Publication

This paper assesses the state of the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) three years after its inception. The author explains how participating states have reaffirmed their intentions to strengthen efforts to interdict financial transactions between proliferators and suppliers, and concentrate on combating black market networks, illegitimate businesses and front companies involved in global WMD proliferation. The paper details how the initiative has been successful at conducting several interdiction operations since 2003, but that generally the PSI suffers from some key political, legal and operational flaws that continue to hinder its legitimacy and viability as an international non-proliferation regime.