Why Do States Acquire Nuclear Weapons? Comparing the Cases of India and France

Abstract

Why did India suddenly decide to acquire an overt, weaponized nuclear deterrent in 1998 after resisting that temptation for so many years? The best way to investigate this question is to look at the Indian case in comparative context. In particular, much insight can be gained by drawing from the history of another nuclear weapons state: France. Using information gleaned from in-depth field research conducted in both India and France, it can be demonstrated that hypotheses for nuclear proliferation based on the objective security situation, the quest for international prestige or bureaucratic politics fall short. Rather, “oppositional nationalist” understandings of national identity were at the root of the bomb decisions in both the France of the mid-1950s and the India of the late 1990s. An oppositional nationalist identity combines a great antagonism toward an external enemy of the nation and an exaltation of the actual or potential strength of the nation. This type of identity produces a mix of fear and pride—an explosive psychological cocktail.