This is a themed report arising out of a BASIC roundtable event in Istanbul on March 25th and 26th, a few weeks before the 2013 Preparatory Committee in Geneva. Involving participants from all over the region, including GCC states, Iran, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey, as well as the United States, UK and Germany, this meeting discussed the health of the non-proliferation regime as it affected the Gulf region and placed today’s debates in a longer-term context.
Content Type
New Briefing: Beyond the Trident Alternatives Review
BASIC has published a new briefing authored by Dr. Nick Ritchie of the University York. The government is in the midst of a Trident Alternatives Review, which will immenently be delievered to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. Dr. Ritchie's new brief critiques that forthcoming Review and highlights weaknesses within current thinking around Trident.
Trident: the Nuclear Jobcentre
Richard Norton-Taylor writes about changing assumptions about nuclear deterrence and nuclear possession. He argues that treating Trident as an employment scheme will leave Britain ill-equipped for the real threat: terrorism. He references the BASIC Trident Commission's recent report by John Simpson:
Beyond the Trident Alternatives Review
This brief, authored by Dr. Nick Ritchie, outlines opportunities and challenges arising from the UK government's ongoing Trident Alternatives Review. This briefing critiques weaknesses within the current thinking around Trident, outlines the key issues that need to be addressed, and highlights the opportunities that Britain has to demonstrate leadership on nuclear disarmament. Ritchie claims that this is a unique opportunity in the UK for an informed debate and addresses the key questions:
Almaty and Prague
This week, talks over Iran’s nuclear program will resume on Friday and Saturday, in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Friday will also mark four years since President Barack Obama delivered his landmark speech in Prague, Czech Republic, where he called for a world free of nuclear weapons and outlined the details of how his first administration would handle nuclear weapons issues.
Unjamming the FM(C)T: Roundtable Report and Backgrounder
BASIC organized a private roundtable with experts and officials to take stock of the current strategic and political dynamics surrounding negotiations on a Fissile Material (Cut-Off) Treaty (FM(C)T). BASIC produced a backgrounder literature review for the roundtable discussion, and also a report summarizing the discussion.
Deterrence, Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and UK Trident
This discussion paper is the fourth in a series and outlines the emergence of Britain's nuclear deterrence posture and thinking over the last seventy years, and how successive governments have sought to balance this with effective non-proliferation diplomacy. Professor Simpson's paper outlines the evolution of Britain's twin-track approach of trying to address its own national security whilst strengthening global security through multilateral nuclear disarmament, and asks whether this approach has a sustained future ahead.
Deterrence, Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and UK Trident
The BASIC Trident Commission is publishing its fourth briefing on Thursday, March 28. In this report, John Simpson outlines the emergence of Britain’s nuclear deterrence posture and thinking over the last seventy years, and how successive governments have sought to balance this with effective non-proliferation diplomacy.