Security Assurances: Concept Clarification and Initial Hypotheses

Paper prepared for International Studies Association annual convention, New Orleans, LA, Feb. 17-20, 2010NOTE: This paper was originally drafted to serve as the introductory paper for a workshop on Security Assurances and Nonproliferation organized by the author. The workshop took place in Colorado Springs, CO, in August 2009, and was funded by the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).Military power and the threat to use it can be employed by states not only for expansionist purposes but also as a means to protect national security. Historically, countries that seek security have often depended on threats or the ability to threaten other states to defend their interests and deter challenges. But a threat-based strategy will not always be effective. In some situations, promises to respect or ensure the security of others may be appropriate as a complement or even alternative to the ability to threaten others. Such security assurances, however, have received much less attention from policymakers and scholars than have measures for defense or deterrence