Nonproliferation and Norm Discourse: An Agentic Constructivist Model of U.S. Nuclear Export Policy Changes

Abstract

U.S. government claims of support for the global nonproliferation norm sometimes appear contradicted by dramatic changes in its policies regarding support for peaceful nuclear energy programs around the world. This study offers a new accounting of foreign policy decision making relative to global nonproliferation normative architectures as a product of norm-based differences between presidents and congressional leaders over technology sharing. It advances an agentic constructivist model of the export policy process and conducts a plausibility probe of the model through three case studies of export control reform debates. It also examines alternative theory models focused on strategic imperatives, foreign policy change, and neoliberal economics. Case evidence suggests that different alignments in norm stewardship, and the interactions of key agents regarding perceived norm commitments, help account for export policy struggles. These often translate into unique and complex policy outcomes, suggesting the value of contingent models of policy change and international cooperation.

Note from the Editor

“…In this issue, our articles pick up on several strands of political science and policy studies that have become staples in Politics & Policy' s fold over the last decade. Vivian Ike discusses policy change and implementation in Australia's Carbon Tax Policy that brings to mind past publications on similar subjects (see e.g., Brant, Myers, and Runge 2017; Lantis 2016). Extending his former discussions on the index of fluidity (Pelizzo and Nwokora 2016, 2018), Riccardo Pelizzo's article continues the important foray into how the institutionalization of parties intersects with claims concerning good governance, with empirical reference to Sub‐Saharan Africa.…”