Trump’s Nuclear Rhetoric and its implications for European Security
Further questions were raised over the direction of US nuclear posture review last week. In an exclusive interview with Reuters, Trump opined that the US has 'fallen behind on nuclear weapon capacity' and pledged the US to be 'top of the pack' when it comes to nuclear weapons.
Each December, Wilton Park, the UK Foreign Office conference centre, hosts an international conference on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. In 2016, BASIC Director Paul Ingram authored the official report.
The US President has the authority to launch the US nuclear arsenal at any time and without reference to any other authority. During the Presidential election Democrats attempted to discredit Trump’s ability to handle the grave responsibilities of office that come from control of the country’s thousands of nuclear warheads. US nuclear posture and doctrine is now set to remain a high-profile, contentious issue in the first year of the Trump Administration.
What are states' responsibilities around the possession of nuclear weapons?
Our latest report, written in partnership with the Institute for Conflict, Cooperation, and Security (ICCS), at the University of Birmingham, seeks to foster an international dialogue about the responsibilities of nuclear-armed states.
Paul Ingram, BASIC’s Executive Director, was one of the judges in the recent Young Student Pugwash competition. Participants were asked to write a blog in response to the below challenge. The winner is Caroline Leroy. We reproduce her blog post here.
As the USNS Bowditch was recovering a UUV (unmanned underwater vehicle, or underwater drone) in the South China Sea on 15th December, a light-fingered Chinese Navy salvage ship reportedly called Naniju swooped in and took it in spite of repeated bridge-to-bridge demands to return the craft.
In times when evidence-based policy making approaches are under assault, communities that devote themselves to managing the dangers of strategic competition and nuclear arms racing need to come together to consider ways to realise their common objectives.
Our two latest reports assess the effect of emerging undersea technologies on ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) and strategic stability.