Article
Ariel (Eli) Levite, Toby Dalton
{
"authors": [
"Toby Dalton"
],
"type": "legacyinthemedia",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"Carnegie Europe"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "NPP",
"programs": [
"Nuclear Policy"
],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"Middle East",
"Iran",
"Syria"
],
"topics": [
"Nuclear Policy"
]
}
Source: Getty
In The Media
Maintaining the Nuclear Order
The existing nuclear order faces unprecedented changes. In navigating this changing landscape, the International Atomic Energy Agency faces three principal challenges.
By Toby Dalton
Published on Aug 9, 2011
Source: Insights on Law and Society
At the center of the nuclear order is the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations agency charged with verifying that nuclear programs remain peaceful and with facilitating the development of nuclear energy. In navigating this changing landscape, the IAEA faces three principal challenges.
First, there is increasing divergence of political will and legal authority on compliance. In the cases of Iran and Syria,
the IAEA has the necessary authority to request and carry out all-encompassing inspections without notice, but IAEA
member states do not have the political will to support the IAEA’s writ.
Second, the IAEA faces increasing demands on its time and expertise in carrying out safeguards and facilitating nuclear energy, but without accompanying budgetary growth. If the IAEA is to be effective in carrying out both responsibilities, it needs adequate financial support from member states.
Finally, there is a looming shortage of technical staff with the expertise to take on complex nuclear safeguards issues. Although the nuclear renaissance has spawned renewed interest in nuclear physics and engineering, including in the United States, there are currently too few students in the pipeline globally to meet the IAEA’s future staff requirements.
In the next decade, the IAEA will face increasing shortages of political, financial, and technical support. Without increases in all three, the current nuclear order may soon be characterized by disorder, with potential negative consequences across the globe.
About the Author
Toby Dalton
Senior Fellow and Co-director, Nuclear Policy Program
Toby Dalton is a senior fellow and co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment. An expert on nonproliferation and nuclear energy, his work addresses regional security challenges and the evolution of the global nuclear order.
- Promoting Responsible Nuclear Energy Conduct: An Agenda for International Cooperation
- A New Era of Nuclear-Powered Submarines Is Making Waves in Nuclear-Weapon-Free ZonesResearch
- +5
Toby Dalton, Jamie Kwong, Ryan A. Musto, …
Recent Work
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 Endowment for International Peace
- The Myriad Problems With the Iran CeasefireCommentary
Four Middle East experts analyze the region’s reactions and next steps.
- +1
Amr Hamzawy, Andrew Leber, Eric Lob, …
- The Iran War’s Global ReachCollection
As the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran continues, Carnegie scholars contribute cutting-edge analysis on the events of the war and their wide-reaching implications. From the impact on Iran and its immediate neighbors to the responses from Gulf states to fuel and fertilizer shortages caused by the effective shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, the war is reshaping Middle East alliances and creating shockwaves around the world. Carnegie experts analyze it all.
- Amid Iran War, Gulf Countries Slow the Pace of ReformsArticle
The return of war as the organizing factor in Middle Eastern politics has predictable consequences: governments are prioritizing regime stability and becoming averse to political and social reform.
Sarah Yerkes, Amr Hamzawy
- Taking the Pulse: Can NATO Survive the Iran War?Commentary
Donald Trump has repeatedly bashed NATO and European allies, threatening to annex Canada and Greenland and deploring their lack of enthusiasm for his war of choice in Iran. Is this latest round of abuse the final straw?
Rym Momtaz, ed.
- “It’s Not Like Turning a Switch On and Off”Commentary
Why the Iran ceasefire isn’t a quick fix to the Strait of Hormuz energy crisis.
Helima Croft, Aaron David Miller
