Introduction: Defence Policy for the 1980s and 1990s

Abstract

For the first time in twenty years defence has become a burning issue in British political life. For those in the defence community debates and controversies about military priorities have been a constant feature of the post-Second World War period in the series of defence reviews which have taken place. Apart from Korea in the early 1950s and nuclear weapons in the late 1950s and early 1960s, however, these debates have generally passed the public by. There have been few votes in defence and politicians have had little incentive to immerse themselves in the ongoing strategic debates with their arcane language and complex technological issues.