Nuclear Weapons and Domestic Stability/ Five deterrents to War

"Nuclear Weapons and Domestic Stability" chapter 1 of " The Spread of Nuclear Weapons"


1. Possession of nuclear weapons may slow arms races down, rather than speed them up


2. For less developed countries to build nuclear arsenals requires long lead time. Nuclear weapons require administrative and technical teams able to formulate and sustain programs of considerable cost that pay off only in the long run.


3. Although highly unstable states are unlikely to initiate nuclear projects, such projects, begun in stable times, any continue through periods of political turmoil and succeed in producing nuclear weapons.

4. The possibility of one side in a civil war firing a nuclear warhead at its opponent's stronghold nevertheless remains.


So the use of nuclear weapons is not likely to be developed domestically, because the country would not be able to sustain it during political turmoil. If these weapons were to be used domestically (unlikely), development of these weapons for international  protection would not be a priority for devloping countries. As the author mentioned, a minmum of continuity must be susatined... a nulcear country must have a certain social-political equilibrium.