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9781032451633

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'Based on his unique experience as a senior civil servant in the arms control field, Dr Walker's masterly study highlights the attempt by British governments between 1974 and 1982 to pursue the apparently contradictory policies of supporting a comprehensive test ban treaty, while simultaneously seeking to modernise and maintain the reliability and safety of UK nuclear weapons. Using a wide range of government archives he explains why it proved impossible to 'square the circle', with the nuclear deterrent ultimately being given priority. This excellent analysis of a neglected area of British nuclear history has significant contemporary relevance and deserves to be read by policy makers and academics interested in the vitally important field of nuclear decision-making.' John Baylis, Emeritus Professor, Swansea University, UK 'Arms Control moves slowly, and many of today's challenges still rhyme with the past. John Walker's account of tensions between UK nuclear weapons policy and non-proliferation goals in the 1980s offers lessons in how complex political, technical and defence considerations have shaped the story of the CTBT. Technical and practical developments around the CTBT have been considerable in the forty years since the events that Walker describes. But 25 years after the Treaty opened for signature, echoes remain of vexing problems that prevented progress on a treaty for so long in the twentieth century. Some could yet pose difficulties for the CTBT and its effective verification. Many in the arms control community know of these issues, but memories fade. Walker's meticulous review of UK archives has assembled an insider analysis that puts in sharp relief the tension between a test ban and national reliance on nuclear weapons. It recalls challenges that have since been largely (but not completely) overcome. the result is of more than historical interest.' Malcolm Coxhead, Former Director CTBT and Disarmament Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office, Australia

'Based on his unique experience as a senior civil servant in the arms control field, Dr Walker's masterly study highlights the attempt by British governments between 1974 and 1982 to pursue the apparently contradictory policies of supporting a comprehensive test ban treaty, while simultaneously seeking to modernise and maintain the reliability and safety of UK nuclear weapons. Using a wide range of government archives he explains why it proved impossible to 'square the circle', with the nuclear deterrent ultimately being given priority. This excellent analysis of a neglected area of British nuclear history has significant contemporary relevance and deserves to be read by policy makers and academics interested in the vitally important field of nuclear decision-making.' John Baylis, Emeritus Professor, Swansea University, UK

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John R. Walker is a Senior Associate Fellow, Royal United Services Institute and at the European Leadership Network, and a Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Science and Technology Studies, University College London. He worked in the Arms Control and Disarmament Research Unit, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, from 1985 to 2020, serving as its Head 2014-2020.

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