Atoms, apartheid, and the agency: South Africa's relations with the IAEA, 1957–1995
van Wyk, Jo-Ansie
A founder member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), South
Africa embarked on an ambitious nuclear weapons programme contrary to the
IAEA Statute. Against the background of the Cold War, South Africa’s threat
perception included, amongst others, threats posed by the Soviet Union, which
was a nuclear-armed state and a supporter of the banned South African
liberation movements. Moreover, the South African government’s apartheid
policies resulted in the country’s increased international isolation, which also
affected its relations with the IAEA. A major global campaign to isolate the
apartheid government in South Africa spilt over to the IAEA, resulting in several
punitive actions against South Africa. Tracing the South African case through
several phases, this article illustrates the intimate links between state identity,
state ideology, nationalism, status, and threat perception. The South African case
illustrates the need for sustained scholarship on all the dimensions of the Cold
War.
↧