Laser isotope separation (LIS) is an emerging technology that uses relatively small, widely-available lasers to achieve civilian or weapons grade concentration of fissile material to fuel nuclear reactions. To date only a few, limited proliferation risk analyses of LIS technology have been conducted. This paper provides a historically and technically informed update on the current state of LIS technology and it explains the high likelihood of increased global LIS adoption. The paper also explains how international rules governing nuclear energy are ill-equipped to handle such new technology. It traces the current limitations to broader issues in international relations theory, especially the incomplete accounts of the role of technology in the proliferation dynamic in the dominant neorealism and social construction of technology approaches. The paper introduces the concept of "international technology development structure," a framework for understanding how technology-related...