India's Emergence as a “Responsible” Nuclear Power

Abstract

In 2005, India and the United States announced a nuclear "deal" that would seek to clarify India's ambiguous status in the nuclear order. The sole superpower appeared to be recognizing India's status as a nuclear-armed state by opening up the possibility of nuclear cooperation. This announcement represented the fruit of many years of careful Indian diplomacy aimed at establishing its identity as a responsible possessor of nuclear weapons and forging a closer alliance with the US. This article provides a concise description of the provisions of the 2005 India-US nuclear agreement, and analyzes its global, regional, and domestic implications.While the nuclear deal, like most events, was the product of a convergence of circumstances (such as the ideological orientation of the administration in the White House and the recent revelations about nuclear transfers out of Pakistan), the main enabling condition was India's strategy constituting itself as a responsible nuclear power. The paper highlights the power of the concept of responsibility, to which the Indian government has repeatedly made reference. It will conclude by comparing the policy options available to the Canadian government in responding to this deal.

The exception to the rule? The EU and India's challenge to the non-proliferation norm

“…The second element -India as a fellow democracy -has been regularly played up by Indian elites (Sasikumar 2007). It is designed to intensify the value-based bonding between India and major democracies in the West, not least the United States.…”

“…The third and final element is India's success in portraying itself as a responsible nuclear actor with an impeccable non-proliferation record (Sasikumar 2007, Narlikar 2011). …”

“…According to Finnemore, '...it is easy to imagine a role for India in rewriting parts of the nuclear regime and, again, this would most likely draw support from others' (Finnemore 2005, p. 204). In fact, the level of acceptance of India's argumentation can be seen as remarkable (Sasikumar 2007). However, looking at the 1990s, this development has not been a straightforward affair.…”

The US–India Nuclear Agreement: Revisiting the Debate

“…17 In the nuclear non-proliferation sphere, 'responsible' behaviour can be defined as 'strict controls on the diffusion of nuclear technology outside national boundaries'. 18 Paul and Shankar argued that after the 1974 peaceful nuclear test, India was punished for its 'nuclear transgressions' and was denied access to nuclear and related advanced technologies. Now, India was being rewarded for 'the exemplary voluntary restraint' it had displayed by exercising 'strict controls over its nuclear know-how and technology'.…”

Africa–India nuclear cooperation: Pragmatism, principle, post-colonialism and the Pelindaba Treaty

“…In essence, the Bush administration had recognised India as a nuclear weapon state. 27 More specifically, the United States conferred this status upon India by promising to work toward full civil energy cooperation, seeking agreement to amend US laws and policies, to amend international regimes to enable civil nuclear energy cooperation and trade with India, and to encourage the normalisation of nuclear energy relations with India by US partners and in other forums. The latter includes the International Thermonuclear Energy Reactor (ITER) project, which explores nuclear fusion for energy production.…”