Abstract
The demand for nuclear energy has increased in recent years mainly in the developing countries of the Asia-Pacific. Despite the Japanese (Fukushima) nuclear power plant accident in 2011, the nuclear power industry is expected to inflate exponentially in the coming decade to maintain the delicate balance between sustainable socioeconomic development and environmental fortification. Therefore, an overwhelming majority of states are inclined to add nuclear power plants to their national grids. India and Pakistan, neither party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty (NPT) nor members of the Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG), are included in the list of new contenders. These two institutional arrangements forbid nuclear cooperation with states that have unsafeguarded facilities and are not party states to the NPT. Besides, India has been mainstreamed in international nuclear commerce whereas Pakistan is deprived of similar rights despite the fact that energy deficiency plagues its socioeconomic developments. The study finds that the existing, ambiguous construct that promotes peaceful uses of nuclear technology and simultaneously opposes nuclear proliferation is not consistent with 21st century's realities. Therefore, the non-proliferation construct necessitates revisions in order to meet the contemporary demands to address developing states' energy needs based on a renewed framework.
Highlights
Nuclear energy has been under serious deliberation of theorists and practitioners alike since the end of the Second World War when the world was first exposed to this unique technology
‘Nuclear power accounts for 75 percent of the energy mix in France, 38 percent in Sweden, 30 percent in South Korea and 19 percent in the USA.’17 It is reported that ‘world energy consumption is expected to grow by 41 percent between 2012 and 2035, with around 95 percent of that coming from emerging economies, in particular China and India.’18 China is producing 19,050 MW at present and aspires to produce 50,000 MW by 2020 and 400,000 MW by 2050.19
Recent revelations show that the Indo-U.S nuclear deal, ‘ allowed [ten] other reactor sites subject to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspection to use imported uranium fuel, freeing up an indigenously mined supply of uranium that was not tracked by the international community – and could be redirected to the country’s bomb program.’45 Adrian Levy has brought out convincing facts to show how India is building a ‘top secret nuclear city to produce thermonuclear weapons at Challakere in its Karnataka state’46 - a clandestine project to produce highly enriched uranium and plutonium to feed military projects
Summary
Abstract [The demand for nuclear energy has increased in recent years mainly in the developing countries of the Asia-Pacific. India and Pakistan, neither party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty (NPT) nor members of the Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG), are included in the list of new contenders. These two institutional arrangements forbid nuclear cooperation with states that have unsafeguarded facilities and are not party states to the NPT. India has been mainstreamed in international nuclear commerce whereas Pakistan is deprived of similar rights despite the fact that energy deficiency plagues its socioeconomic developments. The non-proliferation construct necessitates revisions in order to meet the contemporary demands to address developing states’ energy needs based on a renewed framework.
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