Since the metal scientist Abdul Qadir Khan developed the Pakistani atomic bomb in the 1970s with blueprints from a Dutch energy company, the Netherlands has been on edge. In Friend or enemy science journalist Saar Slegers investigates how universities and governments ensure that sensitive knowledge does not fall into the wrong hands again. Through conversations with academics, security services and politicians, Slegers navigates us through the countless facets of this complex issue. Can you distinguish between risky and safe knowledge? Can the Netherlands give up an international academic top position for the sake of protection? And when does safety policy become unjustified discrimination?
A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of April 22, 2023.