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1 results

  • 1 - The Puzzle of Nuclear Status

  • Sidra Hamidi, Trinity College, Hartford
  • Book:
    After Fission
    Published online:
    17 December 2025
    Print publication:
    08 January 2026, pp 1-31
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  • Summary

    This chapter differentiates nuclear status from nuclear capability. Nuclear capability refers to the material possession of different nuclear technologies that vary from uranium enrichment to nuclear testing. Nuclear status refers to the politics of identifying and being recognized as a nuclear or non-nuclear state. Existing views conflate these two distinct concepts. I argue that a state’s nuclear status cannot be respecified through material terms alone. States contest and construct their nuclear status and overlooking these contestations has practical implications for ongoing nuclear crises in states like Iran and North Korea. The chapter also introduces the theoretical foundation of the book around three factors that motivate states to contest their nuclear status: legality, instrumentality, and identity.