Nuclear Proliferation Theory and Practice: the Case of Iran

<p>The ‘Iran Nuclear Problem' has come to absorb much media, policymaking, and academic energy. In the academic realm, most studies offer mono-causal policy-oriented explanations for Iran's pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability. With some contrast, this paper offers a multi-causal explanation for Iran's pursuit, suggesting that drivers of Iran's nuclear ambitions exist at the international, national, and individual levels of influence on state behavior. It illustrates this with a three-lensed theoretical analysis of Iranian security policy from the perspectives of the neo-realist, strategic culture, and nuclear "mythmaking” models of analysis. In so doing, it finds that that the structured application of multiple academic theories can generate real-world insights into state behavior, and that the indicators generated by the mythmaking model, in particular, are quite practical for U.S. policy toward Iran.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science in Defense and Strategic Studies

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Defense and Strategic Studies

Year dc:date.available

2012

Author dc:creator

• Hoyt, B. Bates

Contributors dc:contributor

• Robert Joseph

• proliferation
• Iran
• nuclear weapons
• international security
• mythmaking
• Defense and Security Studies

Statement dc:rights

• © B. Bates Hoyt

Repository record dc:identifier

https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/1358

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:bearworks.missouristate.edu:theses-2359