Understanding the drivers of nuclear weapons cooperation

Abstract

This chapter concludes that institutionalism provides insights that realism does not in explaining nuclear weapons cooperation between the US and its allies. The book’s analysis yields four key findings. The first is that the US has frequently and deliberately used cooperation on US nuclear weapons to shore up general confidence about its commitment to allies’ security. Second, the enhancement of institutional depth in nuclear weapons cooperation has promoted reassurance among America’s non-nuclear allies and enabled closer and political and operational integration in general. Third, all US allies examined in the book have at times reduced, and in some cases declined, material cooperation that would have visibly linked US nuclear weapons to their own security. The final conclusion is that, contrary to realist arguments, US allies can exercise a significant degree of influence in cooperation regarding US nuclear weapons.