The International Atomic Energy Agency’s Dilemma and Future

　　Abstract: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was originally established to promote the civilian usage of nuclear energy, but from its very inception it has always struggled with the issue of how to do this while preventing nuclear proliferation. The IAEA’s recent record in conducting reviews in Iraq and Iran illustrates that if these challenges are not overcome, the agency’s future ability to both promote civilian usage of nuclear energy and to prevent proliferation will be undermined. This article reviews the history of the establishment of the IAEA and based on an analysis of the problems with the IAEA’s nuclear reviews in Iran and Iraq, offers a proposal for how the IAEA might overcome the increasingly difficult challenges it faces.

　　Author: Zhang Jinyong is a Graduate Student in the Institute of American Studies of the Chinese Academic of Social Sciences