Democracy and nuclear weapons: Case of İran

Democracy is a peaceful government system in which all citizens are considered equal regardless of the social and economic situation, and the people have the right to elect their representatives through free and fair elections. The Democratic Peace approach, which has entered into the International Relations literature since the 1980s, also asserts that the administrative system of a country determines the behaviors in its foreign policy, therefore countries with democratic governance systems adopt a peaceful approach in their foreign policies and try to solve the problems between them without using war or conflict methods. There have been many conflicts between countries for various reasons in history. One of the disagreements between countries is the nuclear armament race. While nuclear weapons, which are capable of destroying armies, cities and even regions completely with a single move, have become a nightmare of the whole world with their destructive power, on the other hand, they have trailed countriesin order to gain advantages in many areas such as military, political, economy and diplomacy. The spread of nuclear weapons among countries has raised concerns in the international environment, as it will increase the danger of nuclear war. At this point, the thesis aims to explain the role of democracy in this concern and the relationship between nuclear weapons and democracy within the framework of the assumptions of democratic peace through the Iranian nuclear program. Key Words : Democracy, Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear Disarmament, Democratic Peace Theory, Iran.