AMERICA'S REACTION TO ISRAEL AND NORTH KOREA'S POSSESSION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE CONSTRUCTIVIST THEORY

Abstract

The Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty (NPT) which is aimed to constricting the spread of such lethal weapons implies that even with the requisite technology and intelligence, not all countries are allowed to possess nuclear weapons. Only five countries are allowed to have nuclear weapons which are Britain, America, Russia, France and China. These countries enjoy such conditional privileges because they had built and tested their nuclear weapons before 1967 when the treaty came into effect. While Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its nukes, North Korea has been somewhat brazen with its sophisticated nuclear acquisition. Even though America is aware of the nuclear acquisitions of both countries, evidences show that it prefers to be more lenient and accommodative of Israel than North Korea. Using the deductive analysis method and the Constructivist theory as a theoretical framework, this paper sought to investigate America's divergent responses. To achieve this, journal articles and other online sources were utilized. The paper discovers that while America's historically constructed ideas and perceptions about Israel and North Korea have played a significant role in its reaction to their status as nuclear capabilities, the actions and reputation of the two countries have also informed the nature of reactions that they got out of America and the rest of the international community.