The Commission’s concluding report, published on 1 July 2014, is intended to inform a more considered debate over Britain’s nuclear weapon policy focused on national security, mindful of the politics and the strategic and diplomatic context. This is a direct response to the report and represents the views of the author. BASIC publishes it here as part of an ongoing discussion.
Publication
Against the Tide: Why the Trident Commission’s views are outdated and out of touch
The Trident Commission, spearheaded by BASIC, launched its concluding report on July 1st, and it is expected to add significant value to the debate on whether or not to keep Britain’s nuclear deterrent. As part of that debate, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament has written a report which almost point by point rebuts the Trident Commission's findings.
Launch of the Trident Commission’s concluding report
BASIC set up the Trident Commission in 2011 as an inquiry into Britain’s nuclear weapon policy. Its final report, published today, represents the collective views of the eight Commission members after engaging in an intense three-year process. The primary purpose of this report is to contribute to an informed and deeper debate on Trident renewal that focuses on national security in its widest sense. We are experiencing rapid strategic change in this century and the relevance of our major defence investments to tomorrow’s threats must be analysed across a wide range of considerations.
A BASIC Guide to Interpreting the Trident Commission’s Concluding Report
BASIC has published its own guide to help interpret the Trident Commission’s concluding report. It draws out the principal messages, and some of the disagreements between the Commission members.
Background Briefing Papers to the Trident Commission Concluding Report
This collection of background papers is published on the same day as the final report from the Commission and can be read alongside it. They are not representative of the views of the Commission but rather of the authors that submitted them. They have fed into the Commission’s deliberations and have been affected by them.
The Trident Commission: Concluding Report
The concluding report from the Trident Commission is aimed to contribute to an informed and deeper debate on Trident renewal that focuses on national security in its widest sense.
The Experience of Nuclear Weapon-Free Zones
This report examines nuclear weapon-free zones and the lessons-learned that could be applied to the issue of tactical nuclear weapons currently based in Europe. The report was originally a background paper for the SWP-BASIC workshop on: “Non-Strategic Nuclear Weapons in Europe: Transparency and Confidence-Building Measures in Practice”, Berlin 27-28 March 2014.
Next Generation
BASIC’s NextGen project aims to inspire the next generation to think differently about nuclear weapons by injecting fresh thinking into the nuclear weapons discussion.