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

Haynes, Susan Turner

doi:10.1080/14799855.2018.1472581

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…21 In a similar vein, Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein was interested in weapons of mass destruction for their capability to deter or wage war but also for their benefits for his prestige among the Arab states. 22 Away from WMDs, the symbolic value attached to high-status conventional weapons helps explain why all sides in World War II, but especially the Axis powers, invested so heavily in large battleships. Such 'majestic dinosaurs' 23 were thought of as sacred vessels.…”

Section: Symbolic Weapons: Beyond Rationalism?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Unraveling Japan’s aircraft carrier puzzle: Leveraging carriers’ symbolic value

Cannon¹,

Rossiter²

2021

Asian Security

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Japan's decision to convert two helicopter-carrying ships into fixed-wing aircraft carriers has generated criticism on two fronts. Military analysts question the military sense of carriers in the age of long-range precision missiles, while other domestic critics decry the move as a flagrant breach of Japan's constitutional constraints on possessing senryoku (war potential) and one likely to provoke Japan's neighbors, most notably China. Against this backdrop of criticism, why did the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe take Japan back into the difficult business of carriers? This article argues that contrary to stated criticism, the carrier conversion program does provide Tokyo with tangible military benefits but these on their own are insufficient to explain the decision. Instead, we show the move is motivated in part by the desire to leverage carriers' symbolic value for political ends.

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Section: Symbolic Weapons: Beyond Rationalism?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Unraveling Japan’s aircraft carrier puzzle: Leveraging carriers’ symbolic value

Cannon¹,

Rossiter²

2021

Asian Security

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“… The nuclear policy of China has got a transition from a counterattack strategy to least deterrence plans.  China has embraced the nuclear deterrence as its nuclear doctrine (Haynes, 2020).…”

Section: Key Features Of China's Nuclear Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

China’s Nuclear Policy: A Realistic Assessment

Sadiq

2021

pjsr

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This research paper focuses on the development, management, and execution of nuclear policies and strategies in China. Chinese nuclear policy has always been a center of discussion for military officials and researchers worldwide. Considering its internal and external security situation and strategic perceptions, China has made some crucial adjustments in its nuclear deterrent to cope with future threats and maintain the diminutive stature among nuclear powers. The issue of Taiwan and ballistic missile defense systems(BMDs) of India and USA may raise China’s critical thinking in the coming future for which it must change its policy of No First Use (NFU) and must shift its nuclear intentions from narrow to limited nuclear deterrent posture. Due to changed cultural perspectives, China has its specific nuclear strategy that involves the minimum utility of nuclear weapons. Factors involved in the evolution of Chinese nuclear strategy are in line with technological modernization. However, China is not willing to leave adherence from its NFU policy. China possesses a limited capacity of nuclear experts, a comparatively lesser quantity of nuclear installations, and a relatively lower number of nuclear weapons because it mainly focuses on the “lean and effective” quality of its strategic nuclear approach. Keywords: Nuclear policy, strategic perceptions, China, security environment.

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“…When Charles De Gaulle was the leader of France, for example, he wanted to have nuclear weapons to advance the status of France. Mao similarly sought nuclear weapons for his newly established state, not only for deterrence purposes but also as a symbol of China’s global status (Haynes, 2020). Nazarbayev took a different route in seeking status for the newly independent Kazakhstan, one that Astana believes other countries should emulate; Kazakhstan is deserving of respect and status because it had the power of nuclear weapons and decided to give them up instead of showcasing that power.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Kazakhstan’s Quest for Status: A Secondary State’s Strategy to Shape Its International Image

O’Neill

Primiano

2023

Journal of Eurasian Studies

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Since becoming an independent country in 1991, Kazakhstan has demonstrated a strong desire for international status and recognition by, for example, hosting numerous international events, such as chairing the OSCE and hosting EXPO 2017; creating the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia; and, most notably, presenting the abandonment of its nuclear weapons as a model for other states to emulate. Surprisingly, Kazakhstan has received scant attention by scholars regarding its desire for status, especially considering how the government has framed its decision to relinquish its nuclear weapons in terms of advancing international peace at the expense of its own security self-interest. Kazakhstan’s status-seeking raises two questions. First, how can a mid-level power strategically frame its foreign and domestic policies in order to improve its global status? And second, how can it improve its international status when domestic priorities (such as economic development and political stability) lead to policies that meet disapproval abroad? In this article, we answer these questions by examining issue areas (security, democratization, and the environment) that contain variation in our dependent variable, Kazakhstan’s quest for status. In doing so, we reveal patterns of how a secondary or mid-level state lacking substantial material capabilities can, through its words and actions, construct an image that may enhance its international status. We also show variation by issue area in the reception of these efforts by developed and developing countries. Lastly, we reveal in what issue areas Kazakhstan’s desire for status internationally is constrained by the government’s desire to maintain power domestically.

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

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

Unraveling Japan’s aircraft carrier puzzle: Leveraging carriers’ symbolic value

Unraveling Japan’s aircraft carrier puzzle: Leveraging carriers’ symbolic value

China’s Nuclear Policy: A Realistic Assessment

Kazakhstan’s Quest for Status: A Secondary State’s Strategy to Shape Its International Image

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