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Speaker: Prof Matthew Jones, Department of International History, London School of Economics
Abstract:
This paper is drawn from research done for the third volume of the official history of the UK strategic nuclear deterrent. It examines the approaches taken by Kissinger in extending assistance to the British and French nuclear programmes between 1971 and 1974, and toward future prospects for Anglo-French nuclear collaboration. The paper will detail the kind of help offered and opens up questions and issues behind the motivations influencing Kissinger's thinking.
Speaker bio:
Matthew Jones is Professor of International History at the LSE, where he served as Head of Department between 2017 and 2020. He is the official historian of the UK strategic nuclear deterrent. In 2017 he published two volumes in connection with this role: The Official History of the UK Strategic Nuclear Deterrent: Volume I: From the V-Bomber Era to the Arrival of Polaris, 1945-1964, and The Official History of the UK Strategic Nuclear Deterrent: Volume II: The Labour Government and the Polaris Programme, 1964-1970. His most recent book, co-authored with Professor Kevin Ruane, and published by Bloomsbury Academic in 2019, was Anthony Eden, Anglo-American Relations and the 1954 Indochina Crisis. A third and final volume of the official history covering UK strategic nuclear policy in the 1970s is in progress.