ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an in-depth investigation of United States (US) nuclear politics in order to assess the explanatory power of institutional democratisation, alongside mainstream and realist approaches, regarding the causes and consequences of US nuclear possession and disarmament. Tom Nichols and Dana Struckman therefore observe howthere were strong divisions among American strategists about the purpose of nuclear weapons. Despite a variety of disagreements within mainstream and realist thought, such works generally see US nuclear possession since 1945 as justifiable and necessary. In order to examine in more detail the question of institutional democratisation in relation to the US’s national nuclear disarmament obligations, we need to recognise the fact that the US has a particularly significant dual nuclear disarmament responsibility. In terms of obstacles, this means outlining which powerful domestic actors and groups, with economic and political influence over nuclear weapons decision-making, drive the US’s continued nuclear possession and prevents disarmament action.
