Naval Postgraduate School

U.s.-latin American Nuclear Relations: from Commitment to Defiance Naval Postgraduate School

Publisher Marketing: Latin America's renewed interest in nuclear energy thus presents challenges to the "new nuclear age." The latter is a term used to characterize a milieu dominated by nuclear anxiety about horizontal nuclear proliferation in Iran and North Korea, the desire to prevent nuclear terrorism (post-9/11), and the need to avert future nuclear accidents (post-Fukushima Daichi incident).4 This project report focuses on four Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico) and highlights two important findings. First, the U. S. has sought to diminish the appeal of nuclear weapons by relying on a plethora of strategies, involving unilateral, bilateral, and multilateral instruments (dialogues, treaties, and regimes); softer measures (norms, economic incentives, and rewards); and coercive means (sanctions and direct pressures).5 Interestingly enough, Latin America has reacted in different ways to these strategies. Bilateral, unilateral, and even coercive means have been historically ineffective at dissuading Latin American states from changing or adjusting their nuclear policies. Argentina and Brazil, specifically, have not been particularly responsive to U. S. bilateral pressures. By contrast, the most successful efforts at achieving nuclear cooperation with Chile and Mexico have been dealt mostly by relying on multilateral strategies, involving technical and scientific assistance from the IAEA. Hence, multilateralism is most effective at persuading Latin American states to comply with nonproliferation norms. This seems ironic since the Western Hemisphere is the area where the U. S. exerts the most influence; however, sovereignty and domestic intervention concerns in Latin America indicate that Washington must cautiously approach its regional counterparts without appearing too intrusive or demanding. Multilateralism accomplishes this by diffusing sovereignty concerns, allowing international legitimate and recognized bodies to implement agreements, while providing Latin American states with a forum in which they can express their views and engage in global affairs. The report first presents the project research design and methods. The second and third sections discuss the background leading to Latin America's increased interest in nuclear power and the efforts undertaken to denuclearize the region. Section four examines the main security challenges and the sources of tension for U. S.-Latin American relations. Section five examines the areas of increased regional cooperation, with a special focus on Chile and Mexico. The final section summarizes the project's findings and identifies avenues for future research.