British Nuclear Deterrent After the Cold War

摘要

The Trident nuclear deterrent program is one of the United Kingdom's largest-evermilitary acquisitions. Planned and initiated in the depths of the Cold War, it is now coming to fruition, when the most obvious justification for it--the Soviet threat to Western Europe--has disappeared. The continuation of the program is not in doubt; the money is largely spent or committed, and the main political parties agree on deploying the force. But the rationale needs refurbishment. Britain has traditionally preferred to represent her nuclear capability primarily as a contribution to NATO's collective deterrence. The second center of decisionmaking concept defined a particular value for that contribution. This rationale seized the moral high ground (by associating Britain's deterrent with NATO's strategy to prevent war), guarded the proliferation flank, and underpinned Anglo-American relations.