'Civil' nuclear programme – serving the dual objectives of retaining the state's hegemony on citizens' basic energy needs and assuring supply of weapon grade ingredients: a case study on India

Abstract

Political leaders of ambitious emerging economies of India and China, where the state has not yet reached the maturity stage, prefer nuclear power to other alternative energy sources, as it serves the dual purpose of retaining the state's hegemony on citizens' basic energy needs and assures supply of weapon grade ingredients. In contrast to North America and most of Western Europe, where growth of nuclear power has levelled out for many years, the 'greatest growth in nuclear generation' in the near future is expected in China, Japan, South Korea and India. It would be naive to believe that the political establishments are not aware of the negative consequences of nuclear power. The question may then arise as to why have the emerging economies of India, China, Brazil, etc., aligned themselves with the nuclear establishment without fully exploiting other alternative energy sources? Taking India as a case, this paper analyses secondary data and findings of various previous studies to explore an answer to this question.