Controlling the 'Absolute Weapon': Delegation, Legitimacy, and Authority at the IAEA

International Security Program Seminar

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) failed to accomplish its original mission of serving as a provider of peaceful nuclear energy services but over the past two decades has developed the legitimacy to issue and demand compliance with rules and commands on some nuclear issues, particularly in the area of the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons. This seminar argued that the persistent demand for IAEA services has resulted in a routinization of international delegation of autonomy and capacity to the IAEA, transforming it from super-power pawn to a multinational forum and now into an agency of global governance—an international nuclear authority.