The British Nuclear Experience: The Roles of Beliefs, Culture and Identity

Based on a detailed analysis of archives and high level interviews this book looks at the role of beliefs, culture and identity in the making of British nuclear policy from 1945 through to the present day. This book also examines Britain's nuclear experience by moving away from traditional interpretations of why states develop and maintain nuclear weapons by adopting a more contemporary approach to political theory. Traditional mainstream explanations tend to stress the importance of factors such as the 'maximization of power', the pursuit of 'national security interests' and the role of 'structure' in a largely anarchic international system. This book does not dismiss these approaches, but argues that British experience suggests that focusing on 'beliefs', 'culture' and 'identity', provides a more useful insight and distinctive interpretation into the process of British nuclear decision making than the more traditional approaches.

Table of Contents:
Introduction 1: The Emergence of a Deterrence 'Habit of Mind' 2: The Chiefs of Staff, Nuclear Weapons and Global Strategy 3: From Atomic Weapons to Thermonuclear Weapons 4: Forging the 'Special' Anglo-American Nuclear Relationship 5: Polaris, Independence and Interdependence 6: The Polaris Improvement Programme and Chevaline 7: The Polaris Replacement Debate under Labour 8: The Adoption of Trident 9: NATO Modernization Plans, SDI and the End of the Cold War 10: Trident Replacement/Renewal: From 'New Labour' to the Coalition Government Conclusion

About the Author :
John Baylis is Emeritus Professor at Swansea University, where he was a Pro-Vice Chancellor. During the course of a distinguished career he has published a number of influential volumes, including Ambiguity and Deterrence: British Nuclear Strategy 1945-196 , Alternative Nuclear Futures: The Role of Nuclear Weapons in the Post-Cold-War Era (edited with R O'Neill), The Globalization of World Politics (edited with S Smith and P Owens, fifth edition) and Strategy in the Contemporary World (edited with J Wirtz and C Gray, fourth edition). Kristan Stoddart is Senior Lecturer in International Politics at Aberystwyth University. His publications include Losing an Empire and Finding a Role?, Britain, the United States, NATO, and Nuclear Weapons 1964-1970, and The Sword and the Shield: Britain, the United States, NATO, and Nuclear Weapons 1970-1976.

Review :
Anyone wishing to understand the United Kingdom's seven-decades-old relationship with nuclear weapons...should start with this excellent new book by leading British scholars John Baylis and Kristan Stoddart. The British Nuclear Experience provides a fascinating and highly accessible narrative of the somewhat peculiar story of both the day-to-day dynamics and the broader evolution of nuclear thinking and policy in the United Kingdom. Baylis and Stoddart, in their jointly authored book, provide a much needed update to Lawrence Freedmans classic Britain and nuclear weapons (Macmillan, 1980), filling in the most recent 35 years. Meticulously reconstructed from once top secret documents, this is a brilliantly analysed case-study of strategic culture, decision-making processes and bureaucratic politics. It should be on every IR or Public Policy reading list! Britain was one of the founders of the nuclear club and is still an active member. John Baylis and Kristan Stoddart provide a unique and comprehensive history of why and how the country retained its nuclear status, drawing attention to the importance of a "deterrence habit of mind". Nuclear weapons policy-making runs like an irradiated thread throughout the history of Britain since 1940. There are no more skilful unearthers of that thread than John Baylis and Kristan Stoddart. Meticulously reconstructed from once top secret documents, this is a brilliantly analysed case-study of strategic culture, decision-making processes and bureaucratic politics. It should be on every IR or Public Policy reading list!