Description
The last decade has represented a turning point in nuclear nonproliferation within the international community. The creation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) has bound actors to respect international agreements and uses trade and economic sanctions as a guiding principle. This paper argues that the threat of nuclear energy (and/or acquiring nuclear weapons) in Iran decreased 7 if trade between the European Union and Iran increases. This paper considers the primary sources on trade statistics seen between the EU and Iran as well as the scholarly work that has been written about the complexities of this trade relationship. The findings of this paper will contribute to the evolving discussion of the effects of trade on nonproliferation and the role of the EU in a global setting. It will also give increased understanding to the evolution of the bilateral trade agreements between the EU and Iran and how there have been a multitude of economic benefits to all countries involved. The evidence in this paper suggests the hypothesis to be true and there is an inverse relationship between trade and nonproliferation. However, more research is required to reach a complete explanation for why the trade relationships between the EU and Iran effects nonproliferation.
Chair
Adérito Vicente
Discussant
Iakovos Iakovidis & Ester Sigillò
Session Type
Panel 2
Topic
Foreign Policy
The EU and Iranian Trade Relationship: How Their Bilateral Trade Agreements Lead To Changes in Nuclear Nonproliferation
The last decade has represented a turning point in nuclear nonproliferation within the international community. The creation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) has bound actors to respect international agreements and uses trade and economic sanctions as a guiding principle. This paper argues that the threat of nuclear energy (and/or acquiring nuclear weapons) in Iran decreased 7 if trade between the European Union and Iran increases. This paper considers the primary sources on trade statistics seen between the EU and Iran as well as the scholarly work that has been written about the complexities of this trade relationship. The findings of this paper will contribute to the evolving discussion of the effects of trade on nonproliferation and the role of the EU in a global setting. It will also give increased understanding to the evolution of the bilateral trade agreements between the EU and Iran and how there have been a multitude of economic benefits to all countries involved. The evidence in this paper suggests the hypothesis to be true and there is an inverse relationship between trade and nonproliferation. However, more research is required to reach a complete explanation for why the trade relationships between the EU and Iran effects nonproliferation.
