Reasons for Country’s Acquisition of Nuclear Weapons
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In the past decades, nuclear weapons have been identified as an intolerable danger to international safety and humanity. Despite all these threats by the possession of nuclear weapons, most countries still acquire them for many reasons, as discussed in this essay.
The motives behind the quest to acquire nuclear weapons have always revolved around the international theory of realism or the security model. Arguments in realist theory hold that states or countries exist in an anarchical world system; thus, nations must solely rely on themselves to protect their sovereignty and national security (Cruz, 2020). The idea of self-protection by nations is founded on the principle that persons are thirsty for power, and they carry out activities while driven by self-interests (Bell, 2014). Thus, a country will seek to develop or acquire nuclear weapons when facing an impending military threat to its security system that cannot be accomplished through alternative options.
Liberals believe that war, aggression, and injustice are unavoidable but can always be moderated through well-set agencies and cooperative means; thus, the decision to acquire nuclear weapons is derived from parochial priorities and bureaucratic interests (Cruz, 2020. This argument is based on the domestic politics model. Domestic leaders promote nuclear weapon acquisition by spreading severe perceptions of foreign threats, promoting sympathetic politicians to lobby for an increase in allocations for defense and weapons, thus encouraging nuclear weapons acquisition (Hamedan, 2017. Scientific domestic coalitions encourage politicians within legislative and executive leadership positions to shape social perceptions regarding the benefits of nuclear weapons acquisition.
Some states decide to pursue nuclear weapons acquisition as prestige and status. As advanced by Scott Sagan, the norms model focuses on non-material reasons such as a countries pride, prestige, and elevated status as some of the factors that lead to the acquisition of nuclear weapons. Some country’s behaviors are not pegged on their leadership and determination of their national security and parochial bureaucratic interests. They are driven by norms that run deeper and the shared beliefs on actions that are considered legitimate and suitable in international relations (Cruz, 2020). These countries prefer to be considered high in status and pride by acquiring expensive nuclear weapons, thus encouraging the piling of these dangerous weapons.
References
Bell, M. (2014). What Do Nuclear Weapons Offer States? A Theory of State Foreign Policy Response to Nuclear Acquisition. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2566293
Cruz, M. (2020). Why Do States Acquire Nuclear Weapons? A Theoretical Framework in Assessing Nuclear Proliferation in Israel, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. Repository @ Seton Hall. Retrieved 19 November 2020, from https://scholarship.shu.edu/pa/vol21/iss1/2/.
Hamedan, H. (2017). Why Do States Seek to Acquire Nuclear Weapons?. Jurnal Pertahanan, 3(1), 33. https://doi.org/10.33172/jp.v3i1.157