"Everybody has to chip in, I think, and see how we can have a functioning system of collective security where we do not continue to face the threat of countries trying to acquire weapons of mass destruction or particularly nuclear weapons"
About this Quote
The phrase “functioning system of collective security” does double duty. On the surface it’s technocratic, a systems engineer’s plea for maintenance. Underneath, it’s a diagnosis: the system is not functioning, not because the concept is flawed, but because member states treat it as optional when inconvenient. ElBaradei is speaking from the IAEA worldview, where legitimacy depends on rules being applied consistently. That’s why he doesn’t name offenders. Naming would satisfy audiences hungry for villains, but it would also expose the hypocrisy he’s tiptoeing around: nuclear-armed states preaching nonproliferation while modernizing arsenals; powerful countries bypassing institutions when they’re slow or skeptical.
His careful narrowing - “weapons of mass destruction or particularly nuclear weapons” - signals a hierarchy of dread. Nuclear proliferation is the political gravity well that distorts every other security debate, turning regional rivalries into global crises. The intent is to re-center prevention as a collective responsibility, not a selective enforcement tool. In ElBaradei’s framing, the real threat isn’t just a new bomb; it’s a world where the rules stop binding.
Quote Details
| Topic | Peace |
|---|---|
| Source | Verified source: Arms Control Today: Curbing Nuclear Proliferation (Mohamed ElBaradei, 2003)
Evidence: Everybody has to chip in, I think, and see how we can have a functioning system of collective security where we do not continue to face the threat of countries trying to acquire weapons of mass destruction or particularly nuclear weapons. (Line 114-116 in the online transcript (no page number in web version)). This wording appears verbatim in the primary-source transcript of an interview with Mohamed ElBaradei published by Arms Control Today (Arms Control Association) in its October 2003 issue. In the transcript, it occurs in the section where ElBaradei discusses what must be addressed outside the IAEA, primarily at the UN, by developing/energizing a system of collective security (see around lines 114–116 of the online page). I was not able to confirm an earlier publication/speaking instance of this exact sentence in the time available; many quote-aggregation sites appear to have lifted it from this interview. Other candidates (1) Strategic Digest (2004) compilation97.6% ... Everybody has to chip in , I think , and see how we can have a functioning system of collective security where we... |
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Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
ElBaradei, Mohamed. (2026, February 20). Everybody has to chip in, I think, and see how we can have a functioning system of collective security where we do not continue to face the threat of countries trying to acquire weapons of mass destruction or particularly nuclear weapons. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/everybody-has-to-chip-in-i-think-and-see-how-we-153888/
Chicago Style
ElBaradei, Mohamed. "Everybody has to chip in, I think, and see how we can have a functioning system of collective security where we do not continue to face the threat of countries trying to acquire weapons of mass destruction or particularly nuclear weapons." FixQuotes. February 20, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/everybody-has-to-chip-in-i-think-and-see-how-we-153888/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Everybody has to chip in, I think, and see how we can have a functioning system of collective security where we do not continue to face the threat of countries trying to acquire weapons of mass destruction or particularly nuclear weapons." FixQuotes, 20 Feb. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/everybody-has-to-chip-in-i-think-and-see-how-we-153888/. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.
