Figure 1. Six Load-Bearing Functions of a Load-Bearing Nuclear State

This dataset supports the figure “Six Load-Bearing Functions of a Load-Bearing Nuclear State” developed under the Nuclear Systems Externality Doctrine (2026). The framework applies a systems-analysis methodology consistent with strategic studies approaches commonly used in defense policy research, scenario modeling, and critical infrastructure assessment. The dataset operationalizes a “load-bearing nuclear state” as a nuclear-armed actor whose structural importance is derived not solely from military capability, but from its embeddedness across multiple global systems. These systems include monetary and reserve currency architecture, global food and agricultural supply chains, energy production and distribution networks, defense-industrial sustainment structures, alliance-based security guarantees, and transnational technology and data infrastructures. The six-function model is designed to decompose systemic dependency into analytically distinct but interdependent categories. Each function represents a discrete vector of global stability transmission. The dataset maps (1) the functional role of the United States within each category, (2) the corresponding global system supported by that function, and (3) the potential second-order externalities associated with abrupt removal or catastrophic disruption of that function. From a RAND-style analytical perspective, the framework is intended to support comparative systems evaluation rather than prediction or scenario advocacy. It enables structured reasoning about how systemic interdependence may concentrate risk in specific state actors whose roles extend beyond conventional measures of national power. The model is compatible with existing literature on complex interdependence, systemic risk theory, deterrence stability, and critical infrastructure vulnerability. The dataset also includes a cross-national comparative matrix of major nuclear-armed states, identifying the degree to which each state exhibits partial or full alignment with the six load-bearing functions. This comparative structure is intended to highlight asymmetries in systemic responsibility and exposure within the contemporary nuclear order. Importantly, the framework does not assign normative judgment, strategic intent, or policy prescription. It does not evaluate the desirability of state collapse, conflict outcomes, or military action. Instead, it provides a structured analytical lens for examining how the removal of a systemically central nuclear state could propagate externalities through financial, agricultural, energy, security, and technological domains. The dataset is intended for researchers in international security studies, defense economics, systems engineering, political economy, and strategic risk analysis. It is designed to support further modeling, scenario simulation, and resilience assessment of global systems under conditions of extreme disruption. Structural interdependence and systemic continuity.