7. Proliferation and Preventive War: The Clash of Pseudo-Environments—The United States, Iran, and North Korea

Today’s proliferation crisis centers on the proliferation programs of North Korea and Iran. How have the actions of the United States after the attacks of September 11, 2001 been interpreted by the strategic culture of North Korea and Iran after being labeled inside the Axis of Evil. Although this idea has been forgotten by most Americans, the term still has resonance in Iran and North Korea. This chapter explores the pseudo-environment of all three countries and how each country’s perceptions have led them in the cases of North Korea and Iran to proliferation and in the case of the United States to actively try to thwart the efforts of the two small states. Using the synthesis of the theoretical framework developed in other chapters, we establish the activities of the Iranians and North Koreans are not strategic (the effort to blackmail or conquer another state), these activities are designed to improve each state’s international status in order to enhance domestic legitimacy. Therefore, the United States should be aware of the perception the Axis of Evil term produced and not rush in to create a crisis environment; which could turn into war.