Democracy and Nuclear Arms Control—Destiny or Ambiguity?

Becker, Una; Müller, Harald; Wisotzki, Simone

doi:10.1080/09636410802507941

Cited by 12 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Although democracy is generally viewed as having a positive influence on the willingness of states to participate in international cooperation, the existing research on arms control treats it ambiguously. Several studies found that there is no conclusive evidence on the relationship between democracy and the (non-)proliferation of nuclear weapons (Becker et al, 2008: 812–817; Sagan, 2011: 236–238). The research on state participation in ICW treaties has so far not determined the role played by the type of domestic political regime.…”

Section: Theoretical Argumentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, state leaders in democracies are motivated to ratify ICW treaties due to the interests and influence of the public. As democratic peace theory has for a long time argued, ordinary citizens are concerned about human casualties and injuries associated with military conflicts (Becker et al, 2008: 814–815; Mello, 2017). Given the above-highlighted prominence of physical integrity rights and human security in democratic countries, the public in these countries should be particularly worried about the use of ICWs.…”

Section: Theoretical Argumentmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

State commitments and inhumane conventional weapons: An explanatory analysis of treaty ratification

Karlas¹

2022

Cooperation and Conflict

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In the last 40 years, the international community has made considerable progress towards the regulation of inhumane conventional weapons (ICWs) by adopting treaties that regulate or ban these weapons. However, many states have still not joined these treaties or have joined them with a considerable delay. These ratification decisions cannot be satisfactorily explained by the existing literature on the origin of ICW treaties, which stress the role of global socialization processes. This article offers a theoretical argument that explains state decisions on the ratification of ICW treaties. It argues that while democracies and countries located in regions with high ratification rates are prone to ratify ICW treaties, an insecure external environment impedes or delays ratification. The argument also claims that security costs resulting from the characteristics of the individual treaties can modify the effects of these explanatory factors. To provide an empirical test for the argument, the article conducts a survival analysis that covers the ratification processes of the three existing ICW treaties.

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Section: Theoretical Argumentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Theoretical Argumentmentioning

confidence: 99%