Nuclear Energy 2011: A Watershed Year

{
  "authors": [
    "Mark Hibbs"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
    "Carnegie Europe",
    "Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center"
  ],
  "collections": [
    "Korean Peninsula"
  ],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "NPP",
  "programs": [
    "Nuclear Policy"
  ],
  "projects": [
    "Eurasia in Transition"
  ],
  "regions": [
    "Middle East",
    "Iran",
    "South Asia",
    "India",
    "Pakistan",
    "East Asia",
    "Japan",
    "North Korea"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Nuclear Policy",
    "Nuclear Energy"
  ]
}

In The Media

Nuclear Energy 2011: A Watershed Year

The cumulative impact of the nuclear developments that occurred in 2012, from the disaster in Fukushima to Iran's continuing nuclear program, will make the world's nuclear future more uncertain.

By Mark Hibbs

Published on Jan 9, 2012

Source: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

The year 2011 marked the first serious accident at a nuclear power plant in a quarter century. After the previous disaster at Chernobyl, the world’s nuclear industry axiomatically predicted that another accident—especially in an advanced country operating conventional light-water reactors—would spell the end of nuclear power everywhere. A year after three US-designed power reactors in Japan melted down in March, that hasn’t happened, but the real impact of the accident on the future of nuclear energy worldwide has yet to be felt. The accident focused attention on Japan for nearly half a year. As the threat gradually receded, the world’s focus shifted back to flashpoints where nuclear crises have been with us for a long time: Iran, North Korea, and South Asia. These weren’t resolved in 2011, and all three appear to be escalating. Two years after the United States recommitted itself to multilateral nuclear diplomacy in 2009, it became apparent that its recommitment was oversold and would not suffice to bridge serious divisions besetting Washington, Beijing, and Moscow—divisions that stand in the way of resolving nuclear crises in Iran and North Korea, or of effectively contributing to a de-escalation of an emerging nuclear arms race in South Asia.

About the Author

Mark Hibbs

Nonresident Senior Fellow, Nuclear Policy Program

Hibbs is a Germany-based nonresident senior fellow in Carnegie’s Nuclear Policy Program. His areas of expertise are nuclear verification and safeguards, multilateral nuclear trade policy, international nuclear cooperation, and nonproliferation arrangements.

Recent Work

Article
Dimming Prospects for U.S.-Russia Nonproliferation Cooperation
- +1
  Toby Dalton, Mark Hibbs, Nicole Grajewski, …
Commentary
What Comes After Russia’s Attack on a Ukrainian Nuclear Power Station?
- Mark Hibbs

Nuclear Policy Nuclear Energy Middle East Iran South Asia India Pakistan East Asia Japan North Korea

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie China

Commentary
Caught in the Middle: Chinese Biotech Firms’ Divergent Responses to U.S. Sanctions
Chinese biotech companies have been on the receiving end of U.S. economic coercion. Yet their responses have differed significantly because firm and state interests are not uniformly aligned. For Washington, treating all Chinese tech firms the same, irrespective of their actual interests, risks pushing them farther into Beijing’s corner.
Xue Gong
Commentary
China’s Energy Security Doesn’t Run Through Hormuz but Through the Electrification of Everything
Across Asia, China is better positioned to withstand energy shocks from the fallout of the Iran war. Its abundant coal capacity can ensure stability in the near term. Yet at the same time, the country’s energy transition away from coal will make it even less vulnerable during the next shock.

Damien Ma
Commentary
How to Predict China’s Economic Performance for 2025: A Sectoral Approach
GDP growth means something fundamentally different in China than in most countries.
Michael Pettis
Article
How Southeast Asia Sees Xi Jinping’s Regional Push Amid U.S.-China Tensions
The Trump administration’s effort to reshape the global trading system and reset overseas security commitments is creating an historic inflection point. Less clear is how far China will be able to capitalize on these dynamics.
+1
Li Mingjiang, Le Hong Hiep, Ngeow Chow Bing, …
Commentary
The Challenges Behind China’s Global South Policies
While China will remain a significant political and economic force in the Global South, its ambition to leverage the Global South as a counterbalance to the United States and the Global North is far from assured.
Xue Gong

More Work from Carnegie China

Robot arm with disposable test tube virus sampling in laboratory

Commentary

Caught in the Middle: Chinese Biotech Firms’ Divergent Responses to U.S. Sanctions

Chinese biotech companies have been on the receiving end of U.S. economic coercion. Yet their responses have differed significantly because firm and state interests are not uniformly aligned. For Washington, treating all Chinese tech firms the same, irrespective of their actual interests, risks pushing them farther into Beijing’s corner.

Xue Gong

Commentary

China’s Energy Security Doesn’t Run Through Hormuz but Through the Electrification of Everything

Across Asia, China is better positioned to withstand energy shocks from the fallout of the Iran war. Its abundant coal capacity can ensure stability in the near term. Yet at the same time, the country’s energy transition away from coal will make it even less vulnerable during the next shock.

Damien Ma

An aerial view shows containers stacked at a port in Taicang, in eastern China's Jiangsu province on May 18, 2025.

Commentary

How to Predict China’s Economic Performance for 2025: A Sectoral Approach

GDP growth means something fundamentally different in China than in most countries.

Michael Pettis

People wave Chinese flags as the plane carrying Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives for a two-day state visit at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on April 14, 2025

Article

How Southeast Asia Sees Xi Jinping’s Regional Push Amid U.S.-China Tensions

The Trump administration’s effort to reshape the global trading system and reset overseas security commitments is creating an historic inflection point. Less clear is how far China will be able to capitalize on these dynamics.

- +1
Li Mingjiang, Le Hong Hiep, Ngeow Chow Bing, …

Commentary

The Challenges Behind China’s Global South Policies

While China will remain a significant political and economic force in the Global South, its ambition to leverage the Global South as a counterbalance to the United States and the Global North is far from assured.

Xue Gong