The British Nuclear Deterrent After the Cold War

Nicholas Witney

ResearchPublished 1995

The Trident nuclear-deterrent program is one of the United Kingdom's largest-ever military acquisitions. Planned and initiated during the Cold War, it is now coming to fruition at a time when the most obvious justification for it — the Soviet threat to Western Europe — has disappeared. With the money largely spent or committed, Britain's continuance as a nuclear-weapon state until well into the twenty-first century seems certain. But with what point and purpose? This report examines the history, the underlying issues, the policy options, and the risks related to redefining a rationale for Britain's nuclear-deterrence program. The author reviews the role the United States has played in the development of Britain's nuclear policy and discusses how a new rationale might affect U.S.-U.K. relationships.

Topics

Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web Only
  • Year: 1995
  • Pages: 143
  • Document Number: MR-514-AF

Citation

Chicago Manual of Style

Witney, Nicholas, The British Nuclear Deterrent After the Cold War. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1995. https://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR514.html.
BibTeX RIS

Research conducted by

This publication is part of the RAND monograph report series. The monograph report was a product of RAND from 1993 to 2003. RAND monograph reports presented major research findings that addressed the challenges facing the public and private sectors. They included executive summaries, technical documentation, and synthesis pieces.

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.

RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.