Nuclear Deterrence

“A world without nuclear weapons may be a dream but you cannot base a sure defence on dreams. Without far greater trust and confidence between East and West than exists at present, a world without nuclear weapons would be less stable and more dangerous for all of us.”

These words were spoken by Margaret Thatcher on her visit to Moscow on March 30, 1987. We now know that the days of the Soviet Union were numbered. In the post-Cold War period, many hoped for a new era in international relations, and so it seemed for a period. But the increasingly belligerent tone taken by Vladimir Putin has ended that hope. Following the full scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Thatcher’s words echo down to us across the years.

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SITUATIONAL AWARENESS AND THE ARCHITECTURE OF FAILURE: LESSONS FROM THE SOUTHPORT INQUIRY

A first report that should be read in every security agency, police service and threat assessment unit — not just in the United Kingdom
Everything described in the Southport Inquiry Phase 1 Report is connected. The failures are not discrete events in a chain; they are mutually reinforcing systemic weaknesses that compounded one another over years. That is the central lesson, and it is one that practitioners in the defence and security community will recognise immediately — because they have seen it before, at home and abroad. This short series will also address "before" and finally ask the question "What next?"

By Euan Grant, Senior Research Associate, U K Defence Forum

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