ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on India's motivations to acquire nuclear weapons using the systemic, domestic and individual levels of analysis. It begins with the individual level of analysis, which is followed by domestic level arguments. The chapter argues that systemic motivations, especially security and explains India's nuclear choice. India has been propelled towards acquiring nuclear weapons to obtain a deterrent capability against Pakistan in the context of the India-Pakistan territorial protracted conflict. India is the most populous democracy in the world and its military plays a limited role in government decision-making. However, it is pertinent to determine whether any other bureaucratic organs have influenced the government's nuclear policy. It is necessary to understand the association between public opinion and India's nuclear weapons acquisition because India has been a democratic country for the past fifty-four years and that may have been a critical factor motivating the Indian government to consider nuclear weapons acquisition.
