Accountability Without Exposure: The Limits of Transparency in Nuclear Security

This independent research paper examines the tension between secrecy and democratic accountability in civil nuclear security. Drawing on political philosophy, democratic theory, publicly available nuclear security guidance and legal materials, it develops the concept of “accountable secrecy”: the principle that sensitive operational information may legitimately remain confidential while the rules and authorised oversight mechanisms governing secrecy remain capable of justification and challenge. The paper develops four conditions for accountable secrecy and considers how these principles could be translated into institutional practice. The research uses exclusively publicly available academic, legal and institutional sources and does not contain classified, sensitive or non-public information.