Replication Data for Military Regimes and Resistance to Nuclear Weapons Development

Few military regimes have seriously pursued a nuclear weapons capability, and only Pakistan has succeeded. I argue that there are two important domestic sources of nuclear proliferation behavior in military regimes: the interests commonly held by military organizations, and fears for political survival. First, even in the presence of external security threats, military organizations in non-nuclear weapons states often prefer to invest in conventional forces. Second, to manage the domestic conflicts that threaten their political survival, leaders in military regimes prioritize conventional arms and a standing army. And when a military regime does pursue nuclear weapons, leaders are likely to distribute program resources among the different service branches, buying officers’ loyalty at the expense of program speed and success. I use case evidence from two states led by military regimes to examine the conditions under which military regimes embrace or resist nuclear weapons development.