ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book focuses on nuclear proliferation in protracted conflict regions and provides a comparative analysis of South Asia and the Middle East. It examines why proliferation incentives remain limited to a few protracted conflict states and what makes states most prone to nuclear weapons acquisition. The book explains the commonalities and divergences in the nuclear policies of the protracted conflict states within these two regions. It also provides a theoretical contribution to the proliferation literature, since only a handful of theories exist that attempt to explain the reasons for nuclear weapons acquisition by states. The book also examines proliferation motivations from the systemic, state, and individual levels of analysis. It explores why security needs, a critical variable, are crucial to only a small number of protracted conflict states.
