British Nuclear Weapons and the Test Ban: Squaring the Circle of Defence and Arms Control, 1974-82

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John Walker (Royal United Services Institute, UK)

British Nuclear Weapons and the Test Ban

Squaring the Circle of Defence and Arms Control, 1974-82

John Walker (Royal United Services Institute, UK)

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English

Routledge
05 May 2023

Peace studies & conflict resolution; British & Irish history; Military history; Politics & government; Warfare & defence; Nuclear weapons

Series: Cold War History

This book provides an overview of how the UK tried to maintain and modernize its strategic and tactical nuclear weapons during 1974-82, whilst also pursuing a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty.

The core question addressed in the book is how a test ban treaty would impact on the reliability and safety of the UK’s nuclear weapons and how this would constrain and limit efforts to secure a comprehensive treaty that would prohibit nuclear testing indefinitely. An added complication lay in the fact that a ban treaty could also prevent or limit the UK’s ability to test new warhead designs to replace its existing tactical nuclear weapons and a new strategic successor system to Polaris. How all of this played out between 1974 and 1982, when the UK announced its decision to acquire Trident and the US decided that a test ban treaty was no longer in its security interests, is discussed. A detailed review, based on the available materials in the UK National Archives, also looks at the aims and objectives of UK nuclear tests in Nevada and on the decisions taken on the Chevaline warhead and its Trident replacement. The book also considers whether there was a far greater threat to the UK nuclear programme from shortages of skilled craftsmen and industrial action at the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston than from a test ban treaty. It also looks at whether nuclear defence trumped arms control objectives during this period.

This book will be of much interest to students of British politics, nuclear proliferation and Cold War History.

By: John Walker (Royal United Services Institute UK)
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
Weight: 498g
ISBN: 9781032451633
ISBN 10: 1032451637
Series: Cold War History
Pages: 174
Publication Date: 05 May 2023
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

John R. Walker is a Senior Associate Fellow, Royal United Services Institute and at the European Leadership Network, and a Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Science and Technology Studies, University College London. He worked in the Arms Control and Disarmament Research Unit, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, from 1985 to 2020, serving as its Head 2014-2020.

Reviews for British Nuclear Weapons and the Test Ban: Squaring the Circle of Defence and Arms Control, 1974-82

'Based on his unique experience as a senior civil servant in the arms control field, Dr Walker's masterly study highlights the attempt by British governments between 1974 and 1982 to pursue the apparently contradictory policies of supporting a comprehensive test ban treaty, while simultaneously seeking to modernise and maintain the reliability and safety of UK nuclear weapons. Using a wide range of government archives he explains why it proved impossible to 'square the circle', with the nuclear deterrent ultimately being given priority. This excellent analysis of a neglected area of British nuclear history has significant contemporary relevance and deserves to be read by policy makers and academics interested in the vitally important field of nuclear decision-making.' John Baylis, Emeritus Professor, Swansea University, UK 'Arms Control moves slowly, and many of today's challenges still rhyme with the past. John Walker's account of tensions between UK nuclear weapons policy and non-proliferation goals in the 1980s offers lessons in how complex political, technical and defence considerations have shaped the story of the CTBT. Technical and practical developments around the CTBT have been considerable in the forty years since the events that Walker describes. But 25 years after the Treaty opened for signature, echoes remain of vexing problems that prevented progress on a treaty for so long in the twentieth century. Some could yet pose difficulties for the CTBT and its effective verification. Many in the arms control community know of these issues, but memories fade. Walker's meticulous review of UK archives has assembled an insider analysis that puts in sharp relief the tension between a test ban and national reliance on nuclear weapons. It recalls challenges that have since been largely (but not completely) overcome. the result is of more than historical interest.' Malcolm Coxhead, Former Director CTBT and Disarmament Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office, Australia