The article “Why Iran should get the bomb by Kenneth Waltz describes the issue of power politics in the realist perspective of international politics. He discusses the issue of international security and vulnerability. The article describes the security dilemma in which one state (Iran) wishes to become nuclear in order to be less vulnerable and increase their security and in turn, this desire for personal security makes another state (Israel) feel insecure as they fear that their own security would be compromised and at risk if Iran became Nuclear. This insecurity leads to Israel taking action to attempt to stop Iran from gaining nuclear weapons.

Waltz argues that Iran should be allowed and potentially encouraged to become Nuclear as by gaining that status, the Middle East as a whole would have increased stability as the two nuclear states, Iran and Israel, will deter each other therefore promoting stability by creating a balance of military power. He notes that, “Israel’s regional nuclear monopoly, which has proved remarkably durable for the past four decades, has long fueled instability in the Middle East” and as such, having another nuclear state will provide the much needed deterrence. The idea of deterrence promoting stability stems from the fact that there hasn’t been any full-scale wars between two strong nuclear powers as the possibility of completely destroying each other has meant that the conflicts never escalate to that level. The self-preservation of each state prevents them from risking themselves to destroy the other. He mentions examples of other states that this has worked for, such as India and Pakistan who have had conflict and hostility between them for a very long time, but when Pakistan became nuclear, the two states both become more cautious towards each other.

Waltz also mentions the US role in this situation. As a global power and potential hegemony, the US has a unique involvement in the issue. Waltz suggest the US should not be overly concerned with preventing Iran from getting nuclear power, however, as a hegemony, the US has to consider the possibility of other states attempting to get nuclear if they step back and allow Iran, they have to consider their own security and whether any global action would be a threat to their hegemony.

This reading helped shed light on how for realists, the world and world politics are viewed through the lens of power and prospective power dynamics. It helped relate the ideas and themes of the course and IR theory such as the security dilemma to current global issues

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