A strategy for restoring U.S. global leadership in nuclear energy under federal law

This article presents a strategy for restoring the United States’ global leadership in nuclear energy. This strategy is based on ten Executive Orders issued by the President of the United States in 2025. The article aims to understand the causes of the United States’ loss of position as a global leader in nuclear energy, and to explain the rationale behind the intensive attempt to reverse this trend. To this end, the article tested the hypothesis that implementing these orders could facilitate the renewal of U.S. global leadership in nuclear energy, provided that: 1) historical and structural barriers are identified and overcome; 2) a sequential regulatory intervention model is applied; and 3) strategic capacity is developed. It was determined that the weakening of the U.S. position is not the result of a single factor, but rather overlapping systemic barriers. The 2025 package of regulations enables the implementation of a sequential model of state intervention, ranging from deregulation and procedural acceleration to centralised coordination, strengthening state instruments and the inclusion of nuclear energy in the national security regime. It was therefore assumed that the effective implementation of this model could create the strategic capabilities necessary for the United States to return to competing for global leadership in nuclear technology.