Introduction

Editors S. Paul Kapur, Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, and Diana Wueger outline the volume, in which experts from the United States and India produced seven chapters on subjects central to nuclear safety and security: insider threats, organizational culture, emergency response and crisis communications, physical protection of nuclear facilities and materials, control of radioactive sources, and cybersecurity. The editors note common themes in the chapters, including the pitfalls of complex security systems; the advantages of eliminating rather than mitigating risk; the importance of political, social, and economic context to nuclear safety and security; the dangers of new technology; the difficulty of assessing safety and security; and the shortcomings of universal safety and security “best practices.” In addition, the editors highlight opportunities for further U.S.-India cooperation on issues such as cyber vulnerabilities, transportation security, organizational culture, evaluation of past safety and security failures, and secure supply chains.