Negotiating global nuclearities: Apartheid, decolonization, and the cold war in the making of the IAEA

Osiris

Volumn 21, Issue , 2006, Pages 25-48

  Hecht, Gabrielle ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN   (United States)

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 33748614108     PISSN: 03697827     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1086/507134     Document Type: Article

References (100)

1. Lawrence Scheinman, The International Atomic Energy Agency and World Nuclear Order (Washington, D.C., 1987)
2. David Fischer, History of the International Atomic Energy Agency: The First Forty Years (Vienna, 1997),
3. The most sophisticated historical analysis is Astrid Forland's "Negotiating Supranational Rules: The Genesis of the International Atomic Energy Agency Safeguards System" (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Bergen, 1997).
4. Scheinman, International Atomic Energy Agency and World Nuclear Order (cit. n. 1), 210.
5. Gabrielle Hecht, The Radiance of France: Nuclear Power and National Identity after World War II, Inside Technology series (Cambridge, Mass., 1998)
6. Fischer, History of the International Atomic Energy Agency;
7. and Forland, "Negotiating Supranational Rules" (both cit. n. 1), both acknowledge the role of "developing nations" in the history of the IAEA and take some elements of postcolonial geopolitics in the agency seriously. Fischer argues that the influence of the "Group of 77" (G-77, the so-called nonindustrialized countries) on agency policies grew stronger beginning in 1973. But the tone of his analysis suggests that this influence was an obstacle to be overcome, rather than its own legitimate force, and that accusations of safeguards as "neocolonial" practices were frivolous, rather than serious, expressions of an alternate vision of global technopolitics. He celebrates the IAEA's role in distributing nuclear technology to developing nations and describes them as "aid programs" without excavating the self-interest of donor nations, the geopolitical conflicts involved in distributing funds and technologies, or the utility of the programsthemselves. Forland treats the positions expressed by some
8. This concern resurfaced at the general conference on the statute. According to the leader of the South African delegation, Arab, Asian, and some Latin American delegations raised concerns parallel to those they were raising at UN General Assembly meetings, concerning the "'undemocratic' nature of the Statute, and the perpetuation of an elite of 'have' nations which would repeat the inequalities of the first industrial revolution." "Conference on the Statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency, First Progress Report, 20th September to 2nd October 1956," Oct. 4, 1956, BLO 349 ref. PS 17/109/3, vol. 2, National Archives of South Africa, Pretoria (hereafter cited as NASA).
9. Fischer, History of the International Atomic Energy Agency (cit. n. 1), 39-40 (my italics).
10. Beverly Sauer, The Multi-Modal Character of Disciplinary Knowledge in South African Coal Mine Safety Training" (talk, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Sept. 13, 2004).
11. Gabrielle Hecht, "Rupture-Talk in the Nuclear Age: Conjugating Colonial Power in Africa," Social Studies of Science 32 (2002): 691-727.
12. Thomas Borstelmann, Apartheid's Reluctant Uncle: The United States and Southern Africa in the Early Cold War (New York, 1993)
13. Jonathan E. Helmreich, Gathering Rare Ores: The Diplomacy of Uranium Acquisition, 1943-1954 (Princeton, 1986).
14. Ibid.
15. "International Atomic Energy Agency," Annex to South Africa Minute No. 79/2,28/7/56,4. BLO 349 ref. PS 17/109/3, vol. 2, NASA.
16. Donald B. Sole, "'This Above All': Reminiscences of a South African Diplomat" (unpublished memoirs, Cape Town, n.d.).
17. "International Atomic Energy Agency," Annex to South Africa Minute no. 79/2 (cit. n. 11), 10-1.
18. "Statement by Mr. W. C. du Plessis, Leader of the South African Delegation, on Oct. 1, 1956," 2, BLO 349 ref. PS 17/109/3, vol. 2, NASA.
19. "Statement Delivered by Mr. D. B. Sole, Leader of the South African Delegation at the Opening of the General Debate of the First General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency," Oct. 7, 1957, 3-4, BLO 349 ref. PS 17/109/3, vol. 2, NASA.
20. As Forland shows in "Negotiating Supranational Rules" (cit. n. 1), the infringement of IAEA actions on national sovereignty was a persistent theme in agency discussions, one raised most often by India and a few other nonwestern nations.
21. "Final Report on the Conference on the Statute of the IAEA, 20th September to 26th October 1956," Nov. 6, 1956, BLO 349 ref. PS 17/109/3, vol. 2, NASA.
22. "International Atomic Energy Agency," Annex to South Africa Minute no. 79/2 (cit. n. 11).
23. Borstelmann, Apartheid's Reluctant Uncle (cit. n. 9).
24. Hermann Giliomee, The Afrikaners: Biography of a People (Cape Town, 2003).
25. "Statement Delivered by Mr. D. B. Sole" (cit. n. 15), 3.
26. Ibid.
27. Jun Morikawa, Japan and Africa: Big Business and Diplomacy (Johannesburg, 1997).
28. In "Negotiating Supranational Rules" (cit. n. 1), Forland sketches out how commercial considerations shaped the ways that the United Kingdom and Canada, in particular, approached safeguards.
29. See John Krige, "Atoms for Peace, Scientific Internationalism, and Scientific Intelligence" (this volume).
30. "Atomic Energy Agency: Planning of the Operational Programme for the First Few Years," Feb. 1, 1957, BLO 349 ref. PS 17/109/3, vol. 2, NASA.
31. Ibid.
32. "First General Conference of the IAEA: Final Report," Nov. 5, 1957, BLO 349 ref. PS 17/109/3, vol. 2, NASA.
33. "Report of the South African Delegation on the Third General Conference of the IAEA," Oct. 8, 1959, BLO 349 ref. PS 17/109/3, vol. 2, NASA.
34. In addition to his activities at the IAEA, Sole joined two South African scientists on a nuclear tour of Europe in the late 1950s. The group visited nuclear research and development facilities throughout the continent, in a thinly veiled effort to peddle South African uranium. This tour is described in his unpublished memoirs: Sole, "'This Above All'" (cit. n. 12).
35. "Mr. Sole's Attendance at IAEA Board Meetings," Dec. 2, 1961, TES 1004 ref. F5/362/5, NASA.
36. "Atomic Energy Agency: Planning of the Operational Programme" (cit. n. 26).
37. "International Atomic Energy Agency: Comments on the Report by the Executive Secretary to the Second Session of the Working Group - Document - IAEA/PC/WG.2(S)," n.d. [ca. April 10, 1957], 1-2, BLO 349 ref. PS 17/109/3, vol. 2, NASA.
38. Ibid., 3-4.
39. "Meeting of the Board of Governors of IAEA: June, 1959," June 12, 1959, BVV83 13/1 ref., vol. 6, NASA.
40. See also "Report of the S.A. Delegation on the Third General Conference of the IAEA," Jan. 12, 1960, BVV83 13/1 ref., vol. 6, NASA.
41. Seventh Regular Session of the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency: Report of the South African Delegation - Part I," Oct. 7, 1963, BVV84 13/1, vol. 7 and annex, NASA.
42. See also "Address Delivered by Mr. D. B. Sole, General Conference," Sept. 19, 1962, BVV84 13/1, vol. 7 and annex, NASA.
43. "IAEA General Conference 1959: Statement Delivered in the General Debate by the Leader of the South African Delegation, Mr. D. B. Sole, on 23rd September 1959," BLO 349 ref. PS 17/109/3, vol. 2, NASA.
44. "Seventh Regular Session of the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency: Report of the South African Delegation."
45. See also "Address Delivered by Mr. D. B. Sole." (Both cit. n. 36.)
46. "Report of the South African Delegation on the Third General Conference of the IAEA" (cit. n. 29).
47. The United Arab Republic was established as a union between Egypt and Syria in February 1958; the hope was that more Arab nations would join. Syria withdrew in 1961, but Egypt continued to use the name until Nasser's death in 1970. Given how rapidly this proposal for an IAEA regional training center followed the founding of the UAR, it seems likely that UAR leaders viewed such a center as a potential technopolitical expression (and creator) of Arab unity that would itself provide incentive for other nations to join. This interpretation would need to be tested in the Egyptian archives, however.
48. "United Arab Republic: Progress in the Atomic Energy Field," Oct 3, 1958, BLO 349 ref. PS 17/109/3, vol. 2, NASA.
49. Ibid.
50. Ibid.
51. Ibid.
52. "IAEA: Missions to Egypt," Nov. 19, 1958, BLO 349 ref. PS 17/109/3, vol. 2, NASA;
53. "South African Delegation to IAEA Conference," Aug. 24,1957, 2, BLO 349 ref. PS 17/109/3, vol. 2, NASA.
54. "IAEA: Proposal to Establish a Regional Centre in Cairo," March 25, 1959, BLO 349 ref. PS 17/109/3, vol. 2, NASA.
55. "Questionnaire: Information Required for Studies Relating to the Establishment of Regional Atomic Energy Training Centers in the Middle East and Africa," June 25, 1959, BLO 349 ref. PS 17/109/3, vol. 2, NASA.
56. "Establishment of Radioisotope Training Centers in Africa and the Middle East," June 30, 1959, BLO 349 ref. PS 17/109/3, vol. 2, NASA.
57. Though, in fact, Afrikaners in the South African government didn't necessarily see this, and Sole had to push hard on his own government to participate actively in the CCTA - so on this issue, he was leading a battle on two fronts.
58. D. B. Sole, "IAEA: Relations with CCTA," June 29, 1960, BLO 581 ref. PS 31/3/13, pt. 1, NASA.
59. D. B. Sole, "IAEA: Relationship Agreement with CCTA," March 19, 1960, BLO 581 ref. PS 31/3/13, pt. 1, NASA.
60. D. B. Sole, "IAEA: Relations with CCTA," Sept. 17, 1960, BVV84 13/1, vol. 7 and annex, NASA.
61. "Report of the South African Delegation to the Fifth General Conference of the IAEA," Oct. 12, 1961, 30-1, BVV84 13/1, vol. 7 and annex, NASA.
62. Secretary for External Affairs, Pretoria, to S.A. Legation, Vienna, Sept. 19, 1960, BVV84 13/1, vol. 7 and annex, NASA.
63. "Report of the South African Delegation to the Fourth General Conference of the IAEA," Oct. 4, 1960, BVV84 13/1, vol. 7 and annex, NASA (my italics).
64. Ibid., 34-5.
65. See Giliomee, The Afrikaners (cit. n. 20), 529, for more on the apartheid state's relations with the Commonwealth.
66. "Report of the South African Delegation to the Fifth General Conference of the IAEA" (cit. n. 52), 3.
67. "Address by the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Dr. Sigvard Eklund, to the Seventh Session of the General Conference," Sept. 24, 1963, 3, BVV84 13/1, vol. 7 and annex, NASA.
68. "Joint Declaration by a Group of Members in Africa and Asia Regarding South Africa," General Debate and Report of the Board of Governors for 1962-63, agenda item 10, Oct. 1, 1963, BVV84 13/1, vol. 7 and annex, NASA.
69. "Statement by South Africa," General Debate and Report of the Board of Governors for 1962-63 (cit. n. 59).
70. Ibid.
71. "Report of the South African Delegation to the Fifth General Conference of the IAEA" (cit. n. 52), 23.
72. Ibid., 32.
73. Ibid.
74. Forland, "Negotiating Supranational Rules" (cit. n. 1), especially chaps. 2 and 3.
75. "Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy: International Safeguards," Aug. 21, 1956, BLO 349 ref. PS 17/109/3, vol. 2, NASA.
76. Forland offers further details on Canadian concerns - see "Negotiating Supranational Rules" (cit. n. 1), 103-4, 135-7.
77. "Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy: International Safeguards" Aug. 21, 1956 (cit. n. 66).
78. For more of same, see David Fischer, Secret Correspondence Z4/5/1, Aug, 21, 1956, BLO 349 ref. PS 17/109/3, vol. 2, NASA.
79. "Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy: International Safeguards," Sept. 8, 1956, BLO 349 ref. PS 17/109/3, vol. 2, NASA.
80. "Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy: International Controls," Nov. 20, 1956, BLO 349 ref. PS 17/109/3, vol. 2, NASA.
81. "International Atomic Energy Agency," Annex to South Africa Minute no. 79/2 (cit. n. 11).
82. In the end, Article XX of the statute specified the following definitions: "1. The term 'special fissionable material' means plutonium-239; uranium-233; uranium enriched in the isotope 235 or 233; any material containing one or more of the foregoing; and such other fissionable material as the Board of Governors shall from time to time determine; but the term 'special fissionable material' does not include source material. 2. The term 'uranium enriched in the isotope 235 or 233'means uranium containing the isotopes 235 or 233 or both in an amount such that the abundance ratio of the sum of these isotopes to the isotope 238 is greater than the ratio of the isotope 235 to the isotope 238 occurring in nature. 3. The term 'source material' means uranium containing the mixture of isotopes occurring in nature; uranium depleted in the isotope 235; thorium; any of the foregoing in the form of metal, alloy, chemical compound, or concentrate; any other material containing one ore more of the foregoing in such concentration as the Board of Governors shall from time to time determine; and such other material as the Board of Governors shall from time to time determine." See appendix I in Fischer, History of the International Atomic Energy Agency (cit. n. 1), 490-1.
83. "Safeguards on Sale of Source Materials," Dec. 27, 1957, BLO 349 ref. PS 17/109/3, vol. 2, NASA.
84. "IAEA: Development of a Safeguards System," Oct. 31, 1958, BLO 349 ref. PS 17/109/3, vol. 2, NASA.
85. "Memorandum 137/10/9, Dec. 31, 1960, BPA 25 ref. 31/32, pt. 1, NASA.
86. Ibid.
87. Ibid.
88. "IAEA: Safeguards against Diversion," Feb. 27, 1960, BPA 25 ref. 31/32, pt. 1, NASA.
89. "The ten-ton threshold still applies. See the IAEA:s INFCIRC/66/Rev.2, Sept. 16, 1968, as posted on the agency's Web site: http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Documents/Infeires/Others/inf66r2. shtml (accessed Oct. 18, 2004).
90. "Report of the South African Delegation to the Fourth General Conference of the IAEA" (cit. n. 54).
91. Ibid.
92. "Statement by Mr. D. B. Sole, Leader of the South African Delegation, in the General Debate: 25th September 1963," BVV84, 13/1, vol. 7 and annex, NASA.
93. "Die Vooregte en Immuniteite van Internationale Atoomkragagentskapinspeketurs," Dec. 9, 1959, TES 1004 ref. F5/362/5, NASA.
94. "The Rights, Privileges, and Immunities of IAEA Inspectors," Dec. 3, 1959, TES 1004 ref. F5/362/5, NASA.
95. For more on the "Inspectors' Document," see Fischer, History of the International Atomic Energy Agency (cit. n. 1), 247-8.
96. While I do not mean to suggest any sort of conspiracy by calling attention to this biographical fact, readers may find its elision particularly striking in light of the details that were supplied by Hans Blix, then director general of the IAEA, in his preface to Fischer's 1997 book (History of the International Atomic Energy Agency [cit. n. 1]): "David Fischer took part in the negotiation of the IAEA's Statue in 1954-56 and served on the IAEA's Preparatory Commission. From 1957 until 1981 he was the Agency's Director and subsequently Assistant Director General for External Relations. In 1981 and 1982 he was Special Adviser to Director General Eklund and to myself. Since then he has served as a consultant to the IAEA on many occasions."
97. Fischer, History of the International Atomic Energy Agency (cit. n. 1), 93-4.
98. Scheinman, International Atomic Energy Agency and World Nuclear Order (cit. n. 1), 211.
99. Ibid., 210.
100. George Perkovich, India's Nuclear Bomb: The Impact on Global Proliferation (Berkeley, 1999).