Why Do States Pursue Nuclear Weapons?

There has been extensive research on the reasons why different states and their pursuit and proliferation nuclear weapons. Unfortunately much of it focuses on a broad look at relationships between already nuclear states, broad global proliferation, and theories like mutual assured destruction, nuclear deterrence, and offensive/defensive classifications for nuclear weapons. However there is a much smaller, but more focused collection of research on a states’ regime type and the effect this has on how likely a state and its leader are to pursue a nuclear weapons program. In this paper I will be focusing more on this research, shying away from broader research on general theories that revolve around nuclear weapons and their proliferation. Much …show more content…
In their research Weeks and Way make the argument that because the leaders in personalist regimes like to have complete control over every aspect of the government in their states they are more likely to meddle in internal affairs within their states’ governments and militaries to the point where these apparatuses become ineffective and poorly prepared to deal with problems. Weeks and Way write that, “nearly all personalist leaders use their great discretion to tamper with the military hierarchy, often depriving their soldiers of the training, weapons, and organizational autonomy necessary to fight effectively, since those same tools could be used against them (709).” This gives us another factor that can be used in our description of what the personalist authoritarian regime looks like, the absence of any actor or group of actors within the institutions of the personalist regime state that can veto the decisions made by this leader, adding to the previously mentioned notion that the personalist leader has no constraints of his power. The existence of poorly trained military institutions within states run by personalist dictatorships also gives us a possible motive for why these regimes might have a higher propensity for pursuing nuclear weapons programs; it is easier to control a nuclear weapons program as a symbol of military might, than an entire well trained army that could …show more content…
Sagan in his article, Why Do States Build Nuclear Weapons? In his article, Sagan lists these motives as three different models; The Security Model, The Domestic Politics Model, And The Norms Model: Nuclear Symbols and State Identity. The main focus of the Security Model is that the pursuit of nuclear weapons by states is a way to deter military threats from other states. The Domestic Politics Model focuses on how states might seek nuclear weapons to suppress domestic opposition to a regime in charge of a state seeking nuclear weapons, or illustrate to their people the power of the regime in charge, or appease other voices of power within the state who are calling for the pursuit of a nuclear weapons program. The Norms Model focuses on states who pursue nuclear weapons for some symbolic reason. This symbolic reason can be something like wanting to pursue nuclear weapons to be perceived as more technologically advanced by the rest of the international