Motives and Incentives for Nuclear Proliferation: Iran as a case study.

The first part of this paper will critically examine the main arguments that have been laid out by various scholars as major incentives for countries to acquire nuclear weapons. It will be shown that many arguments are underdeveloped in terms of theory-building and that many of the suggested motivations need further clarification and specification for a more comprehensive understanding of proliferation of nuclear weapons. The second part of this essay will then use Iran as a case study to test the assumptions put forward by various scholars as to what really determined Iranian behavior in its quest to acquire nuclear weapons. Many of the variables, such as ‘bargaining chip’, ‘domestic turmoil’, ‘public opinion’, ‘scientific momentum’ and ‘leaders personality structures’, are ill equipped to explain Iran’s incentives to obtain nuclear weapons. A better explanation is a realist argument that contends that Iran needs to deter against enemies such as Iraq, Israel and the US. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]