What are the role and importance of leadership in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs)?

Leadership by a certain nation or nations clearly plays an important role in the proliferation or non-proliferation of WMDs. This happens in no small part because “National interests, balance-of power considerations, and alliance commitments always override international treaty commitments.” Thus, “While Russia helped China’s and Iran’s nuclear programs” in the past; the US, as of 2006, was “seen as lacking both the clout and the credibility to build a broad international coalition that would dissuade countries from going nuclear” (Malik, 2006). On the other hand, “China has long used nuclear and missile proliferation to pressure the United States to curb its arms sales to Taiwan and contain its Asian rivals (Japan and India) by arming North Korea and Pakistan”; who in turn started to proliferate WMD technology to ‘tertiary’ “nuclear aspirants (such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Burma)” (Malik, 2006).

References

Malik, M. (2006). “WMD Proliferation: The Nexus between State, Nonstate, and Antistate Actors.” In Lloyd, R. M. (Ed.) Economics and Maritime Strategy: Implications for the 21st Century (pp. 91-102).