Though it has long been a concern for security experts, proliferation has truly become an important political issue for the past two decades, marked simultaneously by the nuclearization of South Asia, the strengthening of international regimes and the discovery of frauds and traffickings, whose number and gravity have surprised observers and analysts alike (Iraq in 1991, Libya until 2004, North Korean and Iranian programs or the A. Q. Khan networks today).

To further the debate on complex issues that involve technical, regional, and strategic aspects, Ifri’s Security Studies Center organizes each year, in collaboration with the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), a series of closed seminars dealing with WMD proliferation, disarmament, and nonproliferation. Generally held in English, these seminars are structured around the presentation of an international expert.

Proliferation Papers is an English-language collection of selected texts from these presentations. An anonymous peer-reviewed procedure ensures the highest academic quality to the contributions. Download notifications are sent to an audience of several thousand international subscribers upon publication.