Nuclear weapons are those weapons considered to be destructive to the environment, objects and even life. They can either be radiological, biological or chemical nuclear weapons. The nuclear weapons are mainly used by the military to defend a country in times of interstate conflict. According to the U.S criminal law, weapons of mass destruction are described as destructive explosive devices like grenades, bombs, mines and rockets.

The effect of nuclear weapons on a conflict between states has been discussed over and over again. Idealists believe that nuclear weapons are useful in deterring aggression, reducing the risks of false optimism and misperception, making a state more secure and consequently reducing conflicts. On the other hand, naysayers have accepted the use of nuclear prevention while still noting the undeniable risks of these weapons on interstate conflicts. Thirdly, nuclear weapons might prevent full-blown nuclear war but aggravate conflict at lower stages.

A study by Rauchhaus found out those dyads where the two states were in possession of nuclear weapons had a higher chance of getting involved in low-level conflicts and disputes, but were less likely to engage in wars.

This study will prove that dyads, where both states are in possession of nuclear weapons, can have a stable calculated balance that reduces all levels of the conflict due to the fear of misguided escalation to the nuclear level and that symmetric nuclear dyads have an equal chance of getting into the war and to participate in low-level conflict as non-nuclear dyads.

Research question
To find out the effects of nuclear weapons on interstate conflict behaviour
To evaluate whether nuclear weapons strengthen the defense, daunting aggression and giving the state better security
To determine the various effects of nuclear weapons on conflict, going by the nuclear capabilities of the enemy

Research Methods
After taking into account the research needs of this study, we propose a quantitative research approach using the secondary data collection method. Secondary data is data that has already been collected and is freely available from other sources. Secondary data approach involves the use of numerical data which offers various advantages:
It is easy to apply various analytical techniques to numerical data. As such, the data can be analyzed in various ways to provide insightful information.
Further, huge databases can very easily be analyzed by simply labeling (coding) various different aspects being measured with different unique numbers. This makes the method suitable for research where data is collected from a large base of respondents.
Results from a quantitative are more on point; devoid of subjectivity that may arise out of analyzing qualitative data.

We propose to collect data from the most recent studies done on the effect of nuclear weapons on conflict like, Rauchhaus (2009)’s and Jo (2009)’s data. These studies are an example of recent, detailed and sophisticated work that already exists providing a grounded starting point for our analysis.

Research results
After collecting the data on the effect of nuclear weapons on interstate conflict, there shall be deeper probing to find out the conflict behaviour of distinct dyads. The results of this research will neither be to back up the position of nuclear optimists or pessimists nor the stability-instability paradox, but to support the findings that symmetric nuclear dyads are likely to undergo low-level clash results mainly from selection effects.

Conclusions
The findings from our research will challenge several aspects of what has previously been considered the truth about the effect of nuclear weapons on interstate conflict resolution. Using secondary data, we will unfold that symmetric nuclear dyads have an equal chance of getting into the war and to participate in low-level conflict as non-nuclear dyads.