ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses more on states individual choices, national identity conceptions, and considerations about international fairness. For most proliferation analysts, individual choices by states and their national identity do not matter greatly; but the most important is the geo-strategic position of states, their alliances, and the state of the international non-proliferation regime. States will not openly recognize that they seek nuclear weapons or even that they want to obtain a military nuclear capability. In the case of nuclear-weapons acquisition, states may be eager to display their technological abilities and their willingness to play a major role in international politics. The spread of nuclear weapons is generally considered to be a bad thing, and only a few academics and military experts publicly endorse the opposite view that selective proliferation could act as a stabilizing force in the international system. The inconsistencies of non-proliferation also exacerbate the tendency of some states to cherish national pride and independence observance of international norms.
