Fiche du document
20 décembre 2020
- handle: 10670/1.omkxei
- hal: hal-03384910
- doi: 10.1080/14682745.2020.1832472
- SCIENCESPO: 2441/2scvddpp539naquk3h9m5sabjf
Ce document est lié à :
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1080/14682745.2020.1832472
Ce document est lié à :
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/hdl/2441/2scvddpp539naquk3h9m5sabjf
info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess
Sujets proches
Frenchmen (French people)Citer ce document
Benoît Pelopidas et al., « Unfit for purpose: reassessing the development and deployment of French nuclear weapons (1956–1974) », Archive ouverte de Sciences Po (SPIRE), ID : 10.1080/14682745.2020.1832472
Métriques
Partage / Export
Résumé
This article presents the first reassessment of the strategic rationality and credibility of French nuclear weapons policy before 1974. Building on untapped primary material from across the world as well as technical analysis, it shows that early Cold War French nuclear weapon procurement and deployment are incompatible with a precise grand design and the requirements of strategic rationality. The first generation of French nuclear forces also lacked technical credibility, despite reliance on outside help. Several French officials knew about it, as did their allies and adversaries. These findings de-exceptionalise French nuclear history and challenge conventional wisdom about Cold War nuclear history.