Author Description
Is Britain prepared to defend itself, or only to play a part in Armageddon? Examining recently released British government documents, this study presents a moral history of British defense policy. Roger Ruston analyzes government rationales for Britain's dependence on weapons of mass destruction, especially nuclear weapons, arguing they are often essentially rationalizations for unstoppable political programs divorced from defense needs and morality.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This study investigates the moral implications and political rationales underpinning British nuclear weapons policy from 1941 to 1987. Roger Ruston, a researcher specializing in defense ethics, utilizes declassified government archives to scrutinize the disconnect between official defense justifications and the actual strategic utility of nuclear armaments. The work argues that British nuclear policy has frequently functioned as a political instrument detached from genuine national security requirements or ethical considerations.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- Analysis of declassified British government documents regarding nuclear defense.
- A chronological examination of British nuclear policy from the early 1940s through the late 1980s.
- A critical framework evaluating the moral justifications provided by state actors for weapons of mass destruction.
Scope Limits
- The text does not provide a technical manual on nuclear weapon design or deployment mechanics.
- The analysis concludes in 1987 and does not address post-Cold War nuclear policy shifts.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Experts recognize this work as a significant contribution to the study of nuclear ethics and British defense history. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the meticulous use of primary source documentation to challenge state-sanctioned narratives.
Page Count:
288
Publication Date:
1990-10-11
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0192852272
ISBN-13:
9780192852274
History
Nuclear weapons
Great Britain
Military Strategy
Ethics
British History
Nuclear Policy