The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership: Proliferation Concerns and Implications
by Jeff Lindemyer [contact information]
Published in The Nonproliferation Review 16:1 (March 2009): 79-93
Abstract posted below. Download the full article online (PDF, 16 pages).
Abstract: Since the dawn of the atomic age, the United States has sought to encourage the use of nuclear energy while minimizing the proliferation risks associated with it. The latest U.S. initiative that sets out to accomplish this is the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP), which, in its current form, potentially includes the spread of sensitive nuclear technologies around the globe. This article examines the concerns surrounding the proliferation of these technologies and surveys their history both domestically and internationally. In identifying these concerns, the author argues that GNEP needs to be considered in the context of the Atoms for Peace program; that it erodes the successful thirty-year U.S. position against reprocessing; and that it allows for the spread of technologies that are not proliferation-resistant.
Jeff Lindemyer 202-546-0795 jlindemyer@armscontrolcenter.org
Jeff Lindemyer is a Policy Fellow at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation where he researches and tracks nonproliferation issues, legislation, and political campaigns and drafts and edits policy analyses.