B9' South Africa's official- and semi-official statements on the subject of nuclearveapon acquisition have been arnbiguous and provide little insight into southAfrica's intentions and plans. A discussion of this topic nust take into accountthe very special situation arising frotu south Africars international isolationbecause of its apartheid policy, The diplornat i c and pol-itical costs of SouthAfrican acquisition and d€ploynent of nuclear Eeapons iqould be high, and quiten.,.sil l'. rjqaqfr^ r. i r +h^eF |v-ri!rJ *.-, .,-. Liseo" Ievertl.eless, oesperrte tonreservc the aparthei{ sy:-tel, SorLh Africars leaders r.-ay eschel,r a rationalweighir:g of costs arrd gains. fnstead, they might try to justify the acc!.isitionof nuclear r4,eapons as a .Iasc resort to attenpt to preserve vhitc supremacy byintimidating neighbo'.ring countries or as a .ievice tro ciemora"lize black SouthAfricans and, conversely, to buttTess the norale of the l,rhite population. 9A. Eecause overt acquisition of nuclear wrapons voufd entail serious risks and cort. fnr iorrl_.f A'-i 'r it q I eericrq ...lrr'l r'l ,irn 1'or . <.f raf adlr ^1- I atant tvvru !r_oroliferation t:tat Ls, So:th Africa could covcrLly stockpile nuclear veal.ons butstop short of openly testing and deploying them. .ihis strategy ',nould be ms.depossible by South Africars possession of unsaf-Jguarded sensitive nuclear facilities,It vould also rely on unconfirmed but h'idely credited runours that South Africahad those \,reapons to serv€ its purposes and pIans. 9f. l\iithout underestiinatin€j the extreme dangers of nuclear veapons in general, th€y take on esiecially ominous d.inensions if in the hands of a r6girne desocratL to preser./e rrhite sufreracy. Traditional conccfts of security interestse.nd percr'ptions oi t,hreat nay apply on-Iy to r. very lirrited cxtent in a situatior 1'rhere the gr€atest thfeat eciually rtcr.s from a t:acist r6girne's denial of L,asicrights to the overwhelming najority of the population and where such a r6gine isprepared to use strong repressive neans to pt:eserlre its interr.sts and privil,eges. tuch n situation clearly in'"'itos illopical rerlonscc and llciions by iouth Africa. 92. The prolileration of nJclear weapons to an.I country is a rnatter of serious concern to the worl-d, The introduction of nuclear r€apons to the African continent, and pa:'ticr-r1ar1y in:rch a volat-ifc region ar southcr?-r Africa, not only woulci oe e severe bl or'r to world\,ide efforts at non-orol. ij"eratiorr but alco woul-d upset nanyyears' efforts to spare the African continent fxon the nuclear arrns race and to make it a nuclean*veapon-fl:ee zone. .-,.rcLg e r t: nr; s of the consequences of that development only can be pessinisiic.