Introduction

Abstract

Dean Acheson, who served Harry Truman as US Secretary of State, was voicing an opinion later echoed by Paul Kennedy in The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, that ‘the illusions of Great Power status lingered on’ as the winds of change heralded by Prime Minster Harold Macmillan blew the British Empire into the informal Commonwealth federation.¹ While it is true that Britain was losing its empire, it will be argued that it was reorienting its role in the world that prioritised Europe, with NATO the primary vehicle for collective security. It will be further argued that within NATO Britain was a key player – a role sustained by the deterrent value of its nuclear weapons.