Description: Through a thorough exploration of British government records, this book explores the UK's nuclear, biological and chemical weapons programmes and attempts to control them between 1956 and 1975. It addresses issues concerning the military, economic and political pressures that influenced policy; the degree to which the UK was a reluctant or enthusiastic player on the international arms control stage; and the effect of international agreements on Britain's weapons programmes. In so doing, it provides the first attempt to assess Britain's NBC arms control policy and practice during the Cold War.
Review Quotes: 'A meticulous, broad-ranging study of nearly 20 years of British arms control history, the book is highly recommended for anyone seeking to better understand how policies governing some of the worst kinds of weapons have developed in the United Kingdom - and where Britain has come from as it contributes to the arms control debates of the present.' VERTIC 'What is unquestionable is that Dr. Walker has done a remarkable task of providing a detailed account of a set of complex negotiations on major - one might say, 'life or death, ' issues.' British Politics Group Newsletter 'Walker ... is in an ideal position to analyse the relevance of past policy to current and future challenges in these fields. He is also able to traverse the academic and policy worlds and, having worked with him first-hand on the AHRC-funded project at Southampton University on which this book draws, I can testify he does so with honesty and integrity of the highest order.' British Journal for the History of Science