The Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI): An Assessment of Its Strengths and Weaknesses, with Some Proposals for Shaping Its Future

The Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) was formed by the US and other concerned nations, including Australia and Japan, in May 2003 to deter, detect and if necessary intercept at sea, on land or in the air shipments of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), their delivery systems and related items. However, the efficacy of the PSI is still limited by several major weaknesses. The PSI is not a stand-alone weapon. It is just one part of a counter-proliferation armoury with a wide array of diplomatic, intelligence, financial, law enforcement and military instruments. This report grew out of a presentation on the PSI the author made to the Royal Australian Navy's Sea Power Conference in Sydney in February 2006.