Does nuclear energy contribute to the proliferation of nuclear weapons?

Oversight committees and treaties prevent countries from creating nuclear weapons

Question: Does nuclear energy contribute to the proliferation of nuclear weapons?
Position‹2 of 2: No, nuclear energy does not contribute to the creation of nuclear weapons
Argument1 of 2›: Oversight committees and treaties prevent countries from creating nuclear weapons

International oversight agencies like the International Atomic Energy Agency and treaties like The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons keep companies from developing nuclear weapons—even if they have the means to do so.

The argument

The countries with the ability to create nuclear weapons don't want to use them. They also don't want other countries to use them. So, if a country gains the ability to create nuclear weapons—as North Korea and Iran have done in recent years—the rest of the world will step in and regulate the country's nuclear supply. The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international agency tasked with the promotion of safe nuclear energy usage, as well as dissuading and preventing foreign entities from using their nuclear energy for military purposes. In order for countries to have access to the benefits of nuclear power, but not have access to the destruction of nuclear weapons, we need agencies like the IAEA. With experts at the helm and buy-in from countries around the world, regulation is possible. The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is another viable way to regulate nuclear weapons capabilities. The treaty has been signed by 190 countries and attempts to prevent the use and proliferation of nuclear weapons. The treaty itself is reviewed every five years and changed or updated on an as-needed basis. While the treaty has not been as successful at decreasing the world stockpile of nuclear weapons, it's certainly a start. Nuclear weapons don't just pop up in countries around the world, and with regulatory commissions and bi-lateral treaties, the global community can stop the development and spread of warheads with exceptional ease.

Premises

[P1]Major nuclear powers do not want nuclear weapons used and actively oppose proliferation by other countries. [P2] International oversight bodies like the IAEA regulate nuclear materials to ensure peaceful use while blocking military diversion. [P3] Binding agreements like the Non-Proliferation Treaty, signed by 190 countries and regularly reviewed, further constrain weapons development. [C] Therefore, nuclear energy does not contribute to the creation of nuclear weapons, because oversight committees and treaties effectively prevent such proliferation.

Counter-arguments

The NPT is not perfect, and a growing number of countries are concerned that the US and Russia aren't taking their nuclear disarmament seriously. There is a growing sense of distrust within the NPT countries, and the distrust is laying the groundwork for countries to pull out or for new countries to refuse entry to the agreement. Our current nuclear treaties and agencies do nothing to prevent the creation of nuclear weapons, and might, if anything, encourage countries to create them.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] The premise supplies its own counter-example. The states it names acquired or pursued weapons despite that opposition, which shows that the preference of the major powers is not itself a mechanism. [Rejecting P2] Safeguards are consent-based. Inspectors go where a state permits, the agency has no enforcement power of its own, and the record includes programmes concealed for years while safeguards were nominally in place. [Rejecting P3] Signature is not compliance. Several states never joined and built weapons, one withdrew and then tested, and the disarmament obligations on the existing nuclear powers remain largely unmet — the erosion the opposing case describes. The deeper problem is that enrichment and reprocessing are shared between civil and military use, which is why a civilian programme shortens the path to a weapon.