Dynamics of Nuclear Going Theories: Problems and Prospect

Abstract

In the contemporary world the mad nuclear arms race is high on the political agenda of most neo-cons, super-patriots, religious fanatics and arms dealers. Throughout the nuclear era, the conventional wisdom has been that one state’s nuclear acquisition has driven its adversaries to follow suit but it is not always the case and instead, the primary security factor driving nuclear weapons proliferation today is the disparity in conventional military power. This is likely to continue in the future, with profound consequences for which states do and don’t seek nuclear weapons. As proliferation begets proliferation, the analysis of reasons why states have sought nuclear weapons remained a central theme of the whole aspect. Several theories-traditional and modern, exist today with their arguments but no single theory is in a position to prove itself as the sole influencing factor which makes it difficult for academician and policymakers to forecast-why states start nuclear weapons programmes or refrain from it. With these facts and factors in the background the paper aims to analyze various existing motivational theories / influencing factors to provide new insight and to be helpful to analysts and policy makers who deal with potential current or future proliferating states. Only by knowing why states behave like they do, effective policies to influence this behaviour can be made.