Leiden University Student Repository

Lokhorst, Dirk Nathan (2025)

Beyond the Dyad: French and British Extended Nuclear Deterrence in a Changing Europe

Bachelor thesis | Security Studies (BSc)

The re-election of Donald Trump in November 2024 and the subsequent negligence of US commitments to European security have ignited a debate on the role of French and British nuclear weapons in providing Europe with a nuclear guarantee. The theoretical field of nuclear deterrence suffers from a dyadic overfocus on US-Russia deterrence and does not have frameworks on extended nuclear deterrence provided by regional nuclear powers. Kickstarting such theoretical work, this research analyses the doctrinal evolution of nuclear extended deterrence towards European allies in France and the UK since 1990. Whereas the UK’s conception remains consistently grounded in its NATO commitments, France can be seen as strengthening its extended deterrence through a ‘Europeanisation’ of its vital interests. This diverging evolution is explained by different approaches towards the European security architecture and disparities in the national perception of being a nuclear power. Future research should...Show moreThe re-election of Donald Trump in November 2024 and the subsequent negligence of US commitments to European security have ignited a debate on the role of French and British nuclear weapons in providing Europe with a nuclear guarantee. The theoretical field of nuclear deterrence suffers from a dyadic overfocus on US-Russia deterrence and does not have frameworks on extended nuclear deterrence provided by regional nuclear powers. Kickstarting such theoretical work, this research analyses the doctrinal evolution of nuclear extended deterrence towards European allies in France and the UK since 1990. Whereas the UK’s conception remains consistently grounded in its NATO commitments, France can be seen as strengthening its extended deterrence through a ‘Europeanisation’ of its vital interests. This diverging evolution is explained by different approaches towards the European security architecture and disparities in the national perception of being a nuclear power. Future research should be focused on the role of extended nuclear deterrence in the dynamics between NATO and European defence integration.Show less

deterrence

nuclear weapons

European security

extended nuclear deterrence

Author

Lokhorst, Dirk Nathan

Faculty

Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs

Supervisors

Desmaele, L.

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en