Avoiding Armageddon — Europe, the United States, and the Struggle for Nuclear Nonproliferation, 1945-1970

Many discussions of nuclear nonproliferation efforts during the Cold War tend to focus on negotiations and contestations between the United States and the Soviet Union. In contrast, Schrafstetter (history, U. of Glamorgan, Wales) and Twigge (Head of Research and Planning, National Archives, UK) place the policies adopted by Britain, West Germany, and France between the end of the Cold War and the development of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty at the core of their analysis. Among the major questions addressed are the relative influence of European policy on the development of the international nonproliferation regime; the reasons U.S. and European policy tended to diverge; the extent to which policy differences created frictions within the alliance; and the relationship between nonproliferation efforts, European integration, and the post-war decolonization process. Annotation c2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Susanna Schrafstetter is a L=lecturer in history at the University of Glamorgan, Wales. She earned her PhD in 1998 from the University of Munich, Germany, and is currently teaching as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Her research interests include nuclear history, especially non-proliferation policy, Anglo-German relations, and the Cold War. She has published articles inContemporary European History, Diplomacy & Statecraft and Journal of Strategic Studies.

Stephen Twigge is an Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Science and Technology Studies, University College, London. He was formerly a Research Associate in the Department of International Politics, University of Wales, Aberystwyth. He has written widely in the field of nuclear history and international relations and is the author (with Len Scott) ofPlanning Armageddon: Britain, the United States and the Command of Western Nuclear Forces, 1945-1964.