Description
UK foreign, defence and security policy is in another critical period of renewal of its nuclear deterrent in what policymakers interpret as an increasingly challenging international order. Whilst the election of the Labour government promises change, its “progressive realism” in foreign policy unsurprisingly appears to represent much more continuity with previous Conservative governments in the field of nuclear deterrence. However, with pressure on the UK’s defence expenditure, and reports of increasing costs in the production of the new Dreadnought submarines, there remains fundamental questions regarding the UK’s place in the global nuclear order, and global order more broadly. This paper examines this complex relationship between the UK’s nuclear deterrent and global role at this crucial point in its foreign, defence and security policy. Whilst accepting that the UK’s nuclear deterrent is, and will continue, to form a core part of its defence and security identity in international relations, this paper argues that the UK is facing a fundamental dilemma in its foreign policy. This dilemma is between the necessity to retain its status as a nuclear power at significant expense, while facing domestic and international pressure to increase its defence expenditure and capabilities beyond its deterrent in a demanding political and economic climate. This paper argues that how the UK navigates this dilemma in the coming years will have significant implications for its role in the global nuclear order.
