Rethinking Nuclear Weapons

Re-evaluating the utility of nuclear weapons as military and political tools?

One of the most important and unremarked trends in nuclear weapons thinking is the constant change in the perceived capabilities and value of nuclear weapons. Hailed as miracle weapons in 1945, able to “assure success in negotiations,” prevent attacks, and guarantee great power status, the record of nuclear weapons has been one of continual disappointment.

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The Programme’s Outline

The Rethinking Nuclear Weapons Project seeks to re-evaluate the utility of nuclear weapons as military and political tools. Beginning with ground-breaking work which persuasively demonstrated that Japan did not surrender because of nuclear weapons attacks in 1945 (2007), continuing on to a prize-winning re-examination of nuclear deterrence (2008), and most recently a careful attempt to remove many of the mythic qualities from nuclear weapons (2013), Rethinking Nuclear Weapons has attempted to use pragmatic analysis to reshape thinking about these dangerous weapons.

Rethinking Nuclear Weapons’ work has led to briefings with government officials on the utility of nuclear weapons, and the link with the emerging humanitarian consequences initiative, in the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Parliament, Norway, Sweden, South Africa and Costa Rica.

Programme Director Ward Wilson also has his own website for the project which you can find here.

Read this programme’s published content

BASIC is developing new approaches to overcome states’ dependency on the doctrine of nuclear deterrence, which blocks global nuclear disarmament and drives proliferation.

Dangerous Omissions and Intellectual Obfuscation: The ‘Left-Wing’ Case for Trident

Ian Sinclair, a writer for Open Democracy, published an article outlining a critical response to Paul Mason's “The leftwing case for nuclear weapons.” The article makes reference to a quote by Ted Seay that calls into question the independence of UK's nuclear policy.

New Study Says Next Generation Remains Oblivious to Nuclear Dangers

In-DepthNews covered the release of the final report from BASIC’s next generation project.

Romanticizing the Bomb: How nuclear “realists” falsely framed the nuclear weapons debate

There has never been as much dissatisfaction with the international framework governing nuclear weapons (the Non-Proliferation Treaty) as there is today. The treaty is being reviewed and debated at the United Nations in New York this month, and for the first time in 35 years there are serious concerns that it might tear apart at the seams.

An Interview with Paul Ingram, Executive Director of the British American Security Information Council (BASIC)

Paul Ingram was interviewed by the ISN about BASIC's mission, our new project called Next Generation that works to stimulate fresh thinking in the nuclear weapons debate and the cross-party BASIC Trident Commission, which recently published its final report on the UK’s nuclear weapons policy.

Fighting Lies and Misconceptions Supporting Nuclear Weapons

Ward Wilson, a senior fellow at BASIC and author of Five Myths About Nuclear Weapons was interviewed by Rob Kall on his radio show Rob Kall Bottum Up. interview was about the work that Ward does and his beliefs and views on nuclear weapons.

Did Bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki Save Lives?

An article written by Ward Wilson, a seniron fellow at BASIC was published in the Diplomat. The article talks about the utility of nuclear weapons and the rationale for keeping them.

The Nuclear Weapon as a Symbol

Being the most powerful and destructive weapon ever conceived by human beings, able to annihilate entire populations, the nuclear weapon is a powerful symbol with multiple dimensions.

Alternative proliferation methods? The nuclear fuel cycle and hydrodynamic testing

Nuclear security, that is, the protection of nuclear materials, technology, and knowledge, is an ever changing field in which academics, policy makers and industry representatives must be forever vigilant for potential new forms of proliferation and security challenges.

Archive Programmes

BASIC believes in making progress on nuclear disarmament, arms control, and non-proliferation through multiple complementary approaches. We continuously develop our programmes – streams of research – through sustained engagement with a wide range of stakeholders, collectively searching for the art of the possible.

Our archive programmes are listed below. Browse our archive programmes page by clicking here.