Sharing Nuclear Secrets: Trust, Mistrust, and Ambiguity in Anglo-American Nuclear Relations Since 1939

Nuclear alliances are high-stakes partnerships that can enhance security, goodwill, and economic well-being, but they also risk a state's existence, generate social and political unrest, and fracture international cooperation. The Anglo-American nuclear alliance is the oldest and most complex in the world, and Sharing Nuclear Secrets is the first comprehensive single-volume study of the relationship. Trust and ambiguity are entangled at the core of the alliance, and the interplay between trust and ambiguity has influenced its institutionalization and maintenance through periods of crisis. Ambiguity is key to keeping the balance between sentiment and interests and the corresponding equilibrium between trust and mistrust in the special relationship.

Format: Hardback
Length: 368 pages
Publication date: 27 June 2023
Publisher: Oxford University Press

Nuclear alliances are intricate and high-stakes partnerships that hold the potential to bring about significant advancements in security, goodwill, scientific and technical innovation, and economic well-being. However, they also carry the risk of jeopardizing a state's very existence, leading to social and political unrest, and fracturing frameworks for international cooperation. The Anglo-American nuclear alliance, which has been in existence for over seven decades, is the oldest and most complex of its kind in the world.

Sharing Nuclear Secrets, a comprehensive single-volume study, delves into the intricate dynamics of the Anglo-American nuclear relationship, highlighting both its fragility and durability. It explores how the alliance has evolved over time, influenced by the preferences of presidents and prime ministers, weathered war scares, overcome isolationist impulses, and persisted despite public antipathy. The book sheds light on the interplay between trust and ambiguity, which have played a crucial role in shaping the institutionalization of the nuclear partnership at bureaucratic and technical levels. It also examines how political actors and private citizens have maintained the relationship through periods of crisis, moments of triumph, and decades of cultural reckoning with nuclear weapons.

Throughout its history, the Anglo-American nuclear relationship has experienced waxing and waning based on various factors. It has weathered war scares, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, and has persisted despite public antipathy towards nuclear weapons. The alliance has survived and been strengthened by scientific rivalries, with both countries investing heavily in research and development in the nuclear field.

Trust and ambiguity are intertwined at the core of the Anglo-American nuclear relationship. While trust is essential for building and sustaining the partnership, ambiguity can create tensions and uncertainties. The interplay between trust and ambiguity has influenced the way the nuclear partnership has been institutionalized, as well as the ways in which political actors and private citizens have maintained the relationship through periods of crisis.

From the days of the Manhattan Project to the end of the Cold War, and into present-day circumstances brought about by the Joint Comprehensive Program of Action (JCPOA), the Australia-United States (AUKUS), and Russian nuclear threats over Ukraine, Sharing Nuclear Secrets reveals that ambiguity is key to maintaining the balance between sentiment and interests and the corresponding equilibrium between trust and mistrust in the special relationship.

In conclusion, nuclear alliances are complex and multifaceted partnerships that hold immense potential for positive outcomes. However, they also carry significant risks that must be carefully managed. The Anglo-American nuclear alliance, as the oldest and most complex in the world, serves as a testament to the enduring nature of these relationships and the importance of navigating the interplay between trust and ambiguity to ensure their sustainability and success.

Weight: 686g
Dimension: 240 x 162 x 28 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780198875116