| What diplomatic U.S. policies are best suited to control the nuclear weapons programs beyond the big five nuclear powers? Is it possible to stop or adequately address nuclear proliferation without resorting to the full-blown military tactics that have been used against Iraq?; This policy analysis study will examine the types of policies that the United States has utilized and can adopt in attempting to dissuade Iran, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), India and Pakistan from developing and proliferating their nuclear weapons programs.; The examination of these policies will focus primarily on the successes and failures of U.S. diplomatic tools designed to alter state incentives, especially sanctions and the potential for engagement-based strategies. Through a case-by-case and comparative analysis, the study will attempt to determine which policies are best suited to control the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the future.; The study will advance a number of arguments, each of which has policy implications for, and ultimately point to, the conclusion that the United States must overhaul its whole approach to non-proliferation issues.; In the short term, it will suggest a policy of Phased Engagement involving a series of increasingly significant, verifiable, reciprocal measures that link a broad spectrum of issue areas as the best diplomatic tool for confronting nuclear proliferation in the case study countries. In the long-term, it will argue that the United States may be forced to take a stand, either promoting a world of zero (or significantly reduced), tolerance towards nuclear weapons or to adopt security procedures that adequately address the challenges posed by a world composed of a far greater number of nuclear weapon states. |
