Inducements in Interstate Relations

Abstract

What has the academic scholarship found to date on the role of inducements, external incentives, or punishments to change the behavior of states in the international system? To understand the role of inducements in international relations, it is imperative to explore the full package of options, often referred to as “carrots and sticks” that are available in foreign policy decision-making to best understand when and why certain inducements are successful and why some may be more so than others. There are two big debates of policy importance to note here: Can nuclear decision-making be influenced by external actors, such as the United States? And, second, which set of tools are most helpful to the state seeking to change the behavior of another: carrots, sticks, or some combination of both? Although both incentives and punishments are generally used to change behavior in interstate relations, there are unique policy levers in the nuclear arena that scholars have recently begun to explore. The literature on inducements directly impacts ongoing policy debates, which in turn ultimately highlights the need for more research on nuclear-specific inducements. This article offers the first in-depth, systematic analysis of these inducement options, starting with their general use and then focusing specifically on inducements in the nuclear proliferation arena.