Abstract
In this study, I will be analyzing the factors that affected nuclear strategy during the Obama administration. At the beginning of his term, President Obama, through rhetoric and action, put the reduction of the role of nuclear weapons as a main goal of his administration. This was asserted through directives such as his 2009 “Remarks in Prague” speech and the 2010 Nuclear Posture Review. However, starting in 2014, his policy shifted. As seen in the 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review, for example, this new strategy focused on modernizing nuclear weapons and the importance of these weapons as a deterrence factor. In my study, I will be using a neoclassical realist framework in order to better understand this policy shift. This viewpoint is the most useful because it accounts for systemic level factors, such as the balance of power, but also takes into account other factors, such as domestic politics and elite perceptions. Additionally, since neoclassical realism is best used for explaining security issues and foreign policy decision-making, this case will be a strong test of the descriptive, explanatory, and predictive powers of the neoclassical realist theory.
Advisor
Marsh, Kevin
Department
International Relations
Recommended Citation
Stone, Shelby, "The Big Bomb Theory: Using Neoclassical Realism to Understand the Obama Administration's Nuclear Strategy" (2015). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 6930.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/6930
Disciplines
International Relations
Keywords
nuclear strategy, neoclassical realism, President Obama
Publication Date
2015
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2015 Shelby Stone