Nunn School Associate Professor & Co-Director for the Center for International Strategy, Technology, and Policy (CISTP) Adam Stulberg spoke last month at the University of California, Santa Barbara on "The Nuclear Energy Renaissance vs. Nonproliferation: A Strategic Dilemma or Opportunity?".  

Since the dawning of the nuclear era, the international community has struggled to reconcile sharing peaceful uses of the atom with preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.  The focus has been on developing institutional arrangements-- fuel assurances/take-back exchanges, international enrichment centers, etc.-- to redress technical problems posed by a nuclear fuel cycle that can be used for both commercial and military purposes.  While critics claim that such multinational approaches (MNAs) are futile, unnecessary, and even dangerous; proponents champion MNAs as panaceas for unlocking a nuclear energy renaissance, establishing the "gold standard" for nuclear energy cooperation, averting war over Iran's nuclear ambitions, and advancing nuclear disarmament. This talk will challenge both claims by examining prospective drivers of a nuclear energy resurgence, deconstructing the mixed success and bargaining dimensions to MNAs, and identifying new directions for policy.