Discourse on Nuclear Weapons post-9/11 and Rogue States Narrative

Abstract

Narrative construction plays an important role in the creation of national security policies. The rogue state narrative has been an important part of the conceptualisation and presentation of the security policies of the West. This became more pronounced after the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, which presented certain ‘rogue’ actors as a threat to the security of the international community. A relevant case study in this regard is the possession of nuclear weapons which has been deemed a risk in the hands of such proscribed ‘rogue states.’ This paper will analyse this assertion through the prism of Kant’s seminal work on Democratic Peace Theory which asserts that democracies seldom go to war due to their inherent peaceful tendencies of democracies. Furthermore, the study will look at criticisms of the theory from different theoretical paradigms of international relations.