Политика Турции в режиме ядерного нераспространения

Nowadays, the ideas of energy security and energy stability are closely linked with the general idea of country’s security. And from this point of view, nuclear energy has a significant strategic importance. Some states seek to acquire nuclear energy capabilities to solve their priority economic problems, to satisfy the ever-increasing demand for energy or to get rid of the energy dependency from other countries. For some others, nuclear energy is the synonym of ‘national pride’ and ‘prestige’. There are countries for which nuclear energy combines both tangible and intangible values.
Thus, different interests predetermine the way how the state will conduct its nuclear energy strategy. The vitality of country’s nuclear energy policy is closely linked with the economic capabilities of the given country, the characteristics of its nuclear energy program, the reasons developing it and the attitude of other states towards that program.
The state’s right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and the prohibition to acquire nuclear weapons arise and develop in the frameworks of nuclear non-proliferation regime which is, in fact, an international legal project which comprises numerous legally binding documents focusing on nuclear power and its ramifications. Albeit, nuclear non-proliferation regime is composed of many conventions, international, multilateral and bilateral treaties and agreements, the indispensable centerpiece of this regime is the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty or the NPT, that relies on three pillars: peaceful uses of nuclear energy, non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and nuclear disarmament.
State’s nuclear policy, that is based on the adherence to obligations and rights set out by the NPT, demonstrates country’s intentions to adhere to the international nuclear non- proliferation regime in general. This extremely complex and sensitive structure, called nuclear non-proliferation regime, weakens with each state’s nuclear non-compliance record. That is why every state in that non-proliferation chain has its unique role in keeping nuclear non-proliferation regime viable.
From this point of view, the Republic of Turkey is considered to be an important actor for the global nuclear non-proliferation regime. In this thesis, the regime established by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons or the NPT will serve as a basis and a starting point when studying Turkey’s approaches and visions towards nuclear non-proliferation in general. The current significance of the topic and the reason why Turkey’s policy in the context of nuclear non- proliferation became the subject of our study is generally conditioned by three main circumstances: First, Turkey conducts very determined strategy, designed to acquire nuclear
energy during the last few decades. Second, Turkey is proximate to the Middle East, that is
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considered as a region prone to WMD proliferation. Third, Turkey hosts on its territory U.S. tactical nuclear weapons in the framework of NATO’s nuclear sharing arrangement.
Thus, the principal purpose of this thesis is to reveal the scope of interests and concerns that determine Turkey’s policy in nuclear non-proliferation regime. The object of our research is Turkey’s policy in nuclear non-proliferation regime and the subject of the analysis are the factors shaping that policy.
If we were to describe Turkey’s nuclear non-proliferation policy in one sentence, we could say that it is a whole effort to balance between its own interests and commitments. The immense economic and military capabilities and ambitious nuclear energy program often made Turkey as a potential proliferator in the eyes of the international non-proliferation community. Nevertheless, the thesis supports, that despite the difficult path to the ‘peaceful atom’, Turkey still has clean nuclear non-proliferation record.
Article IV of the NPT acknowledges the rights of all state parties “to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy in peaceful purposes without discrimination” and in accordance of their non-proliferation obligations, and to participate in the exchanges of related material and information1. The abovementioned Article became the primary reason for the Turkish Republic to join the NPT family in 1969. Turkey was expecting that the Treaty would provide necessary legal basis and guidelines for the establishment of nuclear energy sector, that would save the country from growing energy demand and energy dependency. However, the process of ratification of the NPT took ten years for Turkey. The internal political instability and security concerns regarding to WMD programs of neighboring countries, made the Turkish authorities to think twice before ratifying the Treaty. Nevertheless, Turkey’s pro-Western orientation and NATO’s nuclear backing guarantied Turkey’s national security and led to the final integration to the regime.
The adoption of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear weapons significantly limited the risk of nuclear proliferation. And despite, the NPT did not deprive the NNWS from the right of the development of nuclear power for civilian purposes, this unalienable right, however, engenders additional sensitivity for nuclear non-proliferation regime and, as the NPT does not execute the direct control over the implementation of the Treaty provisions, the responsibility for the control over nuclear non-proliferation falls immediately on the IAEA and export control regimes.