National role conceptions and nuclear disarmament: a comparative study

Abstract

This thesis aims to explore how South Africa, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus decided to give up their nuclear weapons. While much attention has been given to why states build nuclear weapons, less is known about how elites’ role conceptions influence the decision to disarm. Using role theory, this study aims to show how leaders’ national role perceptions influenced their decisions to disarm. This research relies on speeches, letters, press conference records, interviews, and academic studies to examine these cases and highlight common patterns and differences in leadership decisions. Falling within the scope of comparative analyses in foreign policy studies, this study aims to provide insights into the individual-level decision-making dynamics behind nuclear disarmament decisions.