"Preface to Going Nuclear" Book Chapter, Going Nuclear: Nuclear
Proliferation and International Security in the 21st Century,
pages xi-xlvii Author: Sean M. Lynn-Jones, Editor, International
Security; Series Editor, Belfer Center Studies in International
Security "The spread of nuclear weapons is an important issue in
the theory and practice of international relations. The most
fundamental reason why scholars and analysts study nuclear
proliferation is that the spread of nuclear weapons may increase
the likelihood of nuclear war. Although there has been a
vigorous debate between nuclear optimists and nuclear pessimists
over whether nuclear proliferation increases the risk of war,
most analysts and policymakers have worried that war—including
nuclear war—will become more likely as more states go nuclear.
There are many reasons to think that the spread of nuclear
weapons will make it more likely that such weapons will be used.
If more states have nuclear weapons, the probability that one
leader will decide to u