Abstract

RIBEIRO DE ANDRADE, Ana Maria. Atoms in international politics. Rev. iberoam. cienc. tecnol. soc. [online]. 2012, vol.7, n.21, pp.113-140. ISSN 1850-0013.

This work examines three points of the history of nuclear energy in Brazil which are fundamental for comparative studies and for the understanding of the dynamics of the political relations between the North and South. The first point, the acquisition and the construction of research reactors, includes an analysis of the program Atoms for Peace and the Cold War, the creation of research institutes and the cooperation agreements for the civilian use of nuclear energy signed with the United States. The second point, focused on power reactors, discusses the conflicts in the choice of the kind of reactor and the acquisition of a PWR from the Westinghouse Electric Company, the interruption of supply of enriched uranium by the United States, the political pragmatism that led to the German-Brazilian agreement and the building of the Angra dos Reis nuclear plants. This last point, the development of the fuel cycle technologies, synthesizes the strategies and achievements that led to the nuclear autonomy, the international pressures, the alliances between the countries of the continent and the non-proliferation agreements of the developed countries. This work concludes that the study of technoscientific cooperation is essential to understand the foreign and commercial politics between countries.

Keywords : Atoms for Peace; nuclear technology; Scientific and technical cooperation agreements; International relationships.

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