The last one of seven-episode ELIMED webinar series, which is a media and information project presented by Center for Applied Turkey Studies (CATS) and supported by Mercator Foundation and German Federal Foreign Ministry, was aired on 8 November at Medyascope’s YouTube channel.
Nuclear energy has increasingly featured as one of the solutions for the worsening climate crisis. Approximately 30 countries are contemplating, negotiating, or already setting up nuclear power programs, with 80% of them being developing economies. Turkey is expected to join the group of countries producing nuclear power in 2023, when the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, supplied by Russia, will become operational. Unfortunately, the expansion of commercial nuclear power can enhance nuclear proliferation because countries can pursue atomic weapons under the guise of civilian power programs. Examples of proliferants that followed this dual path abound, triggering fears that newcomers will attempt a similar feat. This webinar explores attitudes about nuclear power and nuclear weapons in Turkey, as well as recent developments in the realms of nuclear energy and proliferation from the Persian Gulf to South Asia and their impact on Ankara’s own policies. We also examine the role of the nonproliferation regime, its effectiveness, and possible solutions for strengthening its appeal and enforcement mechanisms.
