The UK faces a major strategic choice at the 2015 election over whether to renew the UK’s nuclear weapons systems beyond 2042. This briefing was commissioned by BASIC and WMD Awareness for the Liberal Democrat Party Annual Conference this month. It outlines the debate, the options, and other considerations that need to be taken into account by decision makers during this time of deliberation.
USA

Minimum Deterrence: Examining the Examination
The mid-August publication of the National Institute for Public Policy’s Minimum Deterrence: Examining the Evidence has re-invigorated the debate on America’s nuclear policy and on the concept of nuclear deterrence in general: Does it make sense in the 21st century? Can a ‘Deterrence Lite’ policy, hereafter called ‘Minimum Deterrence’ (MD), really work?
Raising our sights in Syria
President Obama’s announcement on Saturday that he stands ready – before UN weapons inspectors report on their findings but contingent on Congressional consultation – to initiate military action against the Syrian regime for its alleged use of chemical weapons in Damascus two weeks ago, has received mixed reactions both in the US and further afield.
TacNukes News No. 6
A summary of news and analysis on tactical nuclear weapons.
Supporting President Obama on Nuclear Reductions
The year 2013 has not been an easy one for President Barack Obama. A formerly friendly media has started to ask hard questions, his supporters on the left accuse him of following the policy pathways of George W. Bush, and the right excoriates him for, well, living.
Looking beyond the U.S.- Russia stalemate
The decision last week to cancel President Obama’s September meeting in Russia with President Putin sparked a wave of questions among policy watchers.
The NATO Alliance: Rethinking Reassurance
Recently, BASIC hosted two events centered around NATO’s nuclear posture burden-sharing. One of the underlying concerns from representatives of NATO member-states was that of reassurance.
NATO’s future nuclear posture
This roundtable event held on July 25th, 2013 in Washington, D.C., included a small group of experts and representatives from a number of NATO member states. They discussed the future of NATO’s nuclear posture and engagement with Russia on arms control and nuclear weapons – building upon workshops previously held in Moscow and Brussels in 2012 and 2013.