Why Do Less Capable States Go Nuclear?

Given the great cost and effort that go into nuclearization, it would be natural to assume that the most powerful states would acquire them before less capable ones. While this trend did initially hold, more recent nuclear acquirers have been less capable than their forerunners. This paper explores whether or not the existing logics of nuclear proliferation hold for these less capable "second generation" nuclear acquirers, using Pakistan as a case study. While traditional security-focused approaches to nuclearization logic appear to hold true, there appear to be even more emphasis given to non-security aspects of nuclearization, such as national prestige and domestic power politics.