The Power of Prestige: Explaining China's Nuclear Weapons Decisions

• Published in: Asian security (Philadelphia, Pa.) Vol. 16; no. 1; pp. 35 - 52
• Main Author: Haynes, Susan Turner
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 02-01-2020; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Case studies; Decision making; Economic development; Nuclear proliferation; Nuclear weapons; Policy making; Power; Prestige; Production costs; China
• ISSN: 1479-9855; 1555-2764
• DOI: 10.1080/14799855.2018.1472581

The majority of the nuclear proliferation literature is dedicated to understanding why states acquire nuclear weapons. While this question remains important, it is also advantageous to push beyond this inquiry to ask what motivates a state's nuclear decisions after acquisition. Recent research indicates that a state's nuclear force structure is heavily influenced by its threat environment. But what explains decisions relating to specific nuclear weapon systems? If security is a sufficient explanatory variable, then why would a state pursue nuclear weapons with high development and production costs but relatively low security gains? Using China as a case study, this article explores the power of prestige in explaining such decisions.