The Economic Drivers behind the Nuclear Suppliers Group, 1974-1980

• In Event: The Process of Nuclear Proliferation and Nonproliferation

Abstract

The 1970s challenged American postwar economic preeminence through the ‘Nixon shock,’ the end of dollar convertibility to gold of the Bretton Woods system, and the 1973 oil price shock. Concurrently, US market share in terms of global nuclear reactor sales declined while those of West European suppliers like France and West Germany increased. This study argues that American nonproliferation efforts, which in the Nixon/Ford era took the form of developing the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) after India’s 1974 nuclear explosion, were guided as much by security concerns about proliferation as by Washington’s aim to reclaim its market share and protect US nuclear industry against West European competition.

Author

• Jayita Sarkar, Boston University