The Age of Deception: Nuclear Diplomacy in Treacherous Times.

• Author: Ayson, Robert
• Position: Book review

THE AGE OF DECEPTION: Nuclear Diplomacy in Treacherous Times

Author: Mohamed ElBaradei

Published by: Bloomsbury Publishing, London, 2011, 352pp, 20 [pounds sterling].

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The largely Western efforts to stem the proliferation of nuclear weapons have been associatedwith some of the most challenging and interesting episodes in international politics over the last two decades. From revelations about the full extent of Iraq's programme which became apparent after the 1990-91 war to the ill-conceived attack on the same country in 2003 after shaky claims about the weapons Saddam Hussein was purported to have hidden up his sleeve, and from the development of North Korea's nuclear weapons programme to concerns about the potential military applications of Iran's involvement in the nuclear fuel-cycle, this has been a full agenda. Throughout this period the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been charged with monitoring adherence to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to which Iraq, Iran and, at least from time-totime, North Korea have all been parties. And under the leadership of Mohamed ElBaradei from 1997 to 2009, the IAEA was particularly active in wider nuclear diplomacy, seeking to encourage bargains between these 'states of concern' and the leading members of the international community that have been most worried about them.

The most prominent amongst these worried countries has been the United States. 7he Age of Deception, in which ElBaradei tells the story of these years from his own confident perspective, is really a story of his battle with the United States, and in particular with the George W. Bush administration, which led the 2003 war against Iraq and the pressure on North Korea and Iran. As a reader of this book will quickly discover, this battle consists in part of a battle of ideologies, but also a battle of egos. The result is that it is not easy to be entirely sympathetic with the author even if one shares some of his views about the approach that sometimes emanated from Washington and its allies.

The ideological battle is straightforward. Despite the sometimes modest results that have come from diplomatic attempts to deal with actual and potential proliferators, ElBaradei maintains an unshakeable belief in the value of this approach. His constant refrain is that the major powers need to give talks a chance and, when these fail, to try again, this time with more sincerity. His antipathy to sanctions...