This blog post is going to focus on the week-two reading, Why Iran Should Get the Bomb. Written by Waltz, with his unique “lenses” of Neo-realism, the article discussed the potential effect of when Iran obtained nuclear power. To be more specific, Waltz argues that the best way to maintain the balance of nuclear power and the power of a state (in this case, Iran) is to try to use the nuclear power within the country while other countries are not interpreting aggressively as Israel did in the past. The article discussed the current potential methods to balance the nuclear power, the Middle East nuclear crisis, as well as the misunderstanding among countries.

Waltz listed three possible practices to balance Iran’s power. The first is economic sanctions, which is a highly aggressive method that may cause opposite effect due to the vulnerability of the state power (p. 2). In the case of Iran, the result of sanctions may cause the country to build nuclear weapon faster to maintain its power status among nations. The second method suggests Iran could develop a conceptual framework of nuclear power instead of creating the actual bomb (p. 2, 3). While the third way is letting Iran build its own nuclear weapon (p. 3).

Interestingly, through the article, Waltz claims that the third method is the best way to balance the international and regional stability. Waltz proposed that due to Israel’s regional nuclear monopoly, caused a series of troubles in the Middle East (Middle East nuclear crisis) (p. 3). The aggressive progression over the nuclear monopoly could be seen from the last forty years, both Iran and Syria was bombed (p. 3). The unbalanced power in the Middle East may create potential rivals, in this case, Iran. The ongoing debate caused by misunderstanding is also notable. Stated by Waltz, the creation of nuclear power will increase the state’s self-awareness of power. By listing the example of China, India and Pakistan (p. 4), the awareness of power will hence the national security as well as making the state more cautious about the nuclear materials (p. 4, 5). Thus the overall international and regional stability will be improved.

I see the link between lectures and readings from this article. With Waltz’s invention of structural realism, I also see the hegemonic state’s fear of rising power. Stand from the Iran aspect or Waltz’s, the desire for power is for national/international security. However, because of the “security dilemma,” the Western power (US, Europe), as well as Israel, felt threatened by the rising power of Iran; thus they tried to implement various aggressive methods to stop Iran obtain the bomb.

Kenneth Waltz (2012) “Why Iran should get the bomb,” Foreign Affairs, 91(4): 2-5.