Does Regime Type Shape the United States of America’s Influence on Nuclear Proliferation? Examining U.S. Leverage and Strategic Calculus in the State of Israel and the Republic of Korea’s Nuclear Trajectories

The proposition that democracies would be more likely to adhere to U.S. efforts to prevent the pursuit of nuclear armament makes theoretical sense. As democracies are aligned with the U.S. in terms of values and benefit from U.S. protection, it is understandable that they would defer to the U.S. on an issue as consequential as nuclear proliferation. This thesis examines this “democratic persuasion theory” through two cases, the State of Israel and the Republic of Korea, to determine if regime type is a significant variable in determining whether the U.S. succeeds in preventing a country from seeking nuclear armament.