In The 21st Century, The Motivation And Process Analysis Of The United States' Promotion Of Civil Nuclear Cooperation With India

In the 21^st century,the U.S.nuclear policy towards India has changed dramatically.Under the Bush administration,the U.S.lifted the sanctions and the"nuclear blockade"imposed on India for its refusal to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty and conducting nuclear tests,restarting the process of civil nuclear cooperation with India.The next two presidents of the U.S.continued to deepen the nuclear cooperation between two countries.The cooperation reflected the double-standard of the U.S.policy on non-proliferation and undermined the authority of the International Nuclear Non-proliferation Regime.The research question of this paper is why the U.S.violated the non-proliferation principle of its foreign policy to promote the civil nuclear energy cooperation with India.The motivation for the U.S.to promote nuclear cooperation with India was to serve its foreign strategy,develop the bilateral relations with India and gain economic benefits from civil nuclear energy cooperation.In the meantime,the U.S.domestic political factors influenced the formation of this policy.The strong lobbying groups and the support of the USpresidents were positive factors for the cooperation.However,as this policy was not accord with the principle of nuclear non-proliferation,it was hard for the U.S.to change its policy.And it aroused the opposition of non-proliferation supporters in the U.S.,which brought obstacles for the cooperation.This paper makes cases study of the Bush administration's signing of the U.S.-India Nuclear Deal and the Obama administration's push for concrete implementation of the Deal.In the process of signing the deal,the Bush administration and powerful lobbying groups advocated the strategic and economic significance of the Deal,offsetting the concerns in the congress about non-proliferation issues.Under the Obama administration,the U.S.-India nuclear cooperation encountered obstacles,making it difficult for the U.S.companies to enter the Indian nuclear market.Driven by strategic and economic interests,the Obama administration and supporters in civil society worked together in the multiple rounds of negotiation with India and finally removed the obstacles to the cooperation.The deepening of the cooperation reflects the willingness of the U.S.policy makers to adjust their non-proliferation policies in exchange for important strategic interests.The U.S.-India nuclear energy cooperation so far has enhanced the exchange of the nuclear technology between the two countries.And the U.S.companies have begun to enter the Indian nuclear power market.The strategic relationship between two countries has become increasingly close.Therefore,the strategic goals of the U.S.have been basically realized.