ALDERMASTON AND BRITISH NUCLEAR-WEAPONS DEVELOPMENT - TESTING THE ZUCKERMAN THESIS

This paper addresses the proposition put forward by Solly Zuckerman th at the nuclear arms race has been driven by scientists and engineers. The history of British nuclear weapons developments is described with particular attention to both their changing organizational relationshi ps and the fluctuating interface between the UK and the USA on the exc hange of nuclear weapons assistance. The relationships between the nuc lear weapons communities and their governments in the UK and USA are b riefly compared, and it is concluded that Zuckerman's thesis cannot be sustained. Technologists do engage in 'heterogeneous engineering' in pursuit of their goals, but they are far from all-powerful in achievin g these goals.