The British Nuclear Experience

The British Nuclear Experience

Author: John Baylis

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 312

ISBN-13: 0198702027

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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 tradtional 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 persuit 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 intepretation into the process of British nuclear decision making than the more traditional approaches.


Nuclear Reactions

Nuclear Reactions

Author: Mark S. Bell

Publisher: Cornell University Press

Published: 2021-04-15

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 1501754173

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Nuclear Reactions analyzes how nuclear weapons change the calculations states make in their foreign policies, why they do so, and why nuclear weapons have such different effects on the foreign policies of different countries. Mark S. Bell argues that nuclear weapons are useful for more than deterrence. They are leveraged to pursue a wide range of goals in international politics, and the nations that acquire them significantly change their foreign policies as a result. Closely examining how these effects vary and what those variations have meant in the United States, the United Kingdom, and South Africa, Bell shows that countries are not generically "emboldened"—they change their foreign policies in different ways based on their priorities. This has huge policy implications: What would Iran do if it were to acquire nuclear weapons? Would Japanese policy toward the United States change if Japan were to obtain nuclear weapons? And what does the looming threat of nuclear weapons mean for the future of foreign policy? Far from being a relic of the Cold War, Bell argues, nuclear weapons are as important in international politics today as they ever were. Thanks to generous funding from the University of Minnesota and its participation in TOME, the ebook editions of this book are available as Open Access volumes, available from Cornell Open (cornellpress.cornell.edu/cornell-open) and other repositories.


Secrecy, Public Relations and the British Nuclear Debate

Secrecy, Public Relations and the British Nuclear Debate

Author: Daniel Salisbury

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-02-06

Total Pages: 210

ISBN-13: 1000033333

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This book constitutes an original archival history of government secrecy, public relations and the debate surrounding nuclear weapons in Britain from 1970 to 1983. The book contrasts the secrecy and near-silence of the Heath, Wilson and Callaghan governments on nuclear issues in the 1970s with the increasingly vocal case made for the possession of nuclear weapons by the first Thatcher government following a shift in approach in 1980. This shift occurred against a background of rising Cold War tensions and a growing public nuclear debate in the UK. The book seeks to contextualise and explain this transformation, considering the role of party politics, structures and personalities inside the government, and external influences: notably the role of investigative journalists and think tanks in cracking open official secrecy and demanding justification for Britain’s possession of nuclear weapons, and the peace movement in driving increasingly assertive public relations from 1980. The book draws on material from archives and interviews with key figures involved to provide an original and engaging account. It argues that this process of opening up saw significant disclosure of nuclear policy for the first time, and the most extensive public justification of the British nuclear capability to date, which has shaped public understanding of British nuclear weapons into the twenty-first century. This book will be of much interest to students of British politics, Cold War studies, nuclear politics and security studies.


The Official History of the UK Strategic Nuclear Deterrent

The Official History of the UK Strategic Nuclear Deterrent

Author: Matthew Jones

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2017-05-12

Total Pages: 569

ISBN-13: 1351755404

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Volume I of The Official History of the UK Strategic Nuclear Deterrent provides an authoritative and in-depth examination of the British Government’s strategy towards nuclear deterrent from 1945 to 1964. This volume, written with full access to the UK documentary record, examines the strategic nuclear policy of British governments after 1945 as they tried to build and then maintain an independent, nationally controlled strategic capability, while also attempting to forge a close nuclear relationship with the United States. This book will be of much interest to students of British politics, nuclear proliferation and international relations.


Grappling with the Bomb

Grappling with the Bomb

Author: Nic Maclellan

Publisher: ANU Press

Published: 2017-09-26

Total Pages: 409

ISBN-13: 1760461385

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Grappling with the Bomb is a history of Britain’s 1950s program to test the hydrogen bomb, code name Operation Grapple. In 1957–58, nine atmospheric nuclear tests were held at Malden Island and Christmas Island—today, part of the Pacific nation of Kiribati. Nearly 14,000 troops travelled to the central Pacific for the UK nuclear testing program—many are still living with the health and environmental consequences. Based on archival research and interviews with nuclear survivors, Grappling with the Bomb presents i-Kiribati woman Sui Kiritome, British pacifist Harold Steele, businessman James Burns, Fijian sailor Paul Ah Poy, English volunteers Mary and Billie Burgess and many other witnesses to Britain’s nuclear folly.


British Nuclear Culture

British Nuclear Culture

Author: Jonathan Hogg

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2016-01-28

Total Pages: 249

ISBN-13: 1441109242

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The advent of the atomic bomb, the social and cultural impact of nuclear science, and the history of the British nuclear state after 1945 is a complex and contested story. British Nuclear Culture is an important survey that offers a new interpretation of the nuclear century by tracing the tensions between 'official' and 'unofficial' nuclear narratives in British culture. In this book, Jonathan Hogg argues that nuclear culture was a pervasive and persistent aspect of British life, particularly in the years following 1945. This idea is illustrated through detailed analysis of various primary source materials, such as newspaper articles, government files, fictional texts, film, music and oral testimonies. The book introduces unfamiliar sources to students of nuclear and cold war history, and offers in-depth and critical reflections on the expanding historiography in this area of research. Chronologically arranged, British Nuclear Culture reflects upon, and returns to, a number of key themes throughout, including nuclear anxiety, government policy, civil defence, 'nukespeak' and nuclear subjectivity, individual experience, protest and resistance, and the influence of the British nuclear state on everyday life. The book contains illustrations, individual case studies, a select bibliography, a timeline, and a list of helpful online resources for students of nuclear history.


Uk Energy Experience, The: A Model A Warning? - Proceedings Of The British Institute Of Energy Economics Conference

Uk Energy Experience, The: A Model A Warning? - Proceedings Of The British Institute Of Energy Economics Conference

Author: G Mackerron

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 1996-03-30

Total Pages: 531

ISBN-13: 1783262699

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The UK energy system has experienced radical reform in past decade — privatisation, liberalisation, re-structuring and re-regulation for gas/electricity supply and coal, plus rapid technological change and flexible fiscal policy in offshore oil/gas. Many countries are seeking to travel similar paths, though more slowly (eg USA, EU, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Pacific Rim) and are following UK experience. The conference brings together academics, business economists and consultants to give the first major evaluation from an economics pespective of the extent to which the UK experience has been successful, and how far it might be reproduced elsewhere.


Duncan Sandys and British Nuclear Policy-Making

Duncan Sandys and British Nuclear Policy-Making

Author: Lewis Betts

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-10-19

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 1137585471

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This book offers new perspectives on British nuclear policy-making at the height of the Cold War, arguing that the decisions taken by the British government during the 1950s and 1960s in pursuit of its nuclear ambitions cannot be properly understood without close reference to Duncan Sandys, and in particular the policy preferences that emerged from his experiences of the Second World War and his efforts leading Britain's campaign against the V-1 and V-2. Immersing himself in this campaign against unmanned weaponry, Sandys came to see ballistic missiles as the only guarantor of nuclear credibility in the post-war world, placing them at the centre of his strategic thinking and developing a sincerely-held and logically-consistent belief system which he carried with him through a succession of ministerial roles, allowing him to exert a previously undocumented level of influence on the nature of Britain's nuclear capabilities and its approach to the Cold War. This book shows the profound influence Sandys' personal belief system had on Britain's attempts to acquire a credible nuclear deterrent.


The Nuclear Express

The Nuclear Express

Author: Thomas Reed

Publisher: Zenith Press

Published: 2010-11-10

Total Pages: 407

ISBN-13: 1616732423

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This is a political history of nuclear weapons from the discovery of fission in 1938 to the nuclear train wreck that seems to loom in our future. It is an account of where those weapons came from, how the technology surprisingly and covertly spread, and who is likely to acquire those weapons next and most importantly why. The authors’ examination of post Cold War national and geopolitical issues regarding nuclear proliferation and the effects of Chinese sponsorship of the Pakistani program is eye opening. The reckless “nuclear weapons programs for sale” exporting of technology by Pakistan is truly chilling, as is the on-again off-again North Korean nuclear weapons program.


Imagining Nuclear War in the British Army, 1945-1989

Imagining Nuclear War in the British Army, 1945-1989

Author: Simon Moody

Publisher:

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 0198846991

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The primary mission assigned to the British Army from the 1950s until the end of the Cold War was deterring Soviet aggression in Europe by demonstrating the will and capability to fight with nuclear weapons to defend NATO territory. This is the first comprehensive account of how the British Army imagined nuclear war, and how it planned to fight it.