NET Submission to the Strategic Defence Review

NET has made a submission to the government’s Strategic Defence Review drawing on its report The Future for UK Defence, Diplomacy and Disarmament – 50 Proposals for a More Peaceful World.  The key points are:

  • The Russia-Ukraine conflict continues to be a subject of deep concern as it enters its third year. Fears persist regarding the potential use of nuclear weapons by Russia, and the widening of the conflict, with no end currently in sight, and no signs of a determined effort for a negotiated peace. A new Cold War involving Russia, China and NATO looms on the horizon. The eroding taboo on nuclear weapons use is particularly worrying.
  • The degradation of nuclear arms control and disar­mament has increased global insecurity and seriously damaged relations between the major powers, which are vitally impor­tant to the future security of the UK and the world. As well as assessing defence capabilities in this age of increasing insecurity, the SDR should therefore also prioritise diplomacy, to prevent and resolve conflicts, and explain how the UK will revive arms control and disarmament to bolster international cooperation and reduce the risk of nuclear war. 
  • The UK Government should promote strategic stability and nuclear risk reduction measures, both at meetings of the major powers and in other international fora, such as the P5 process. In particular the SDR should outline what progressive steps on nuclear arms control and dis­armament the UK will take to revive the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). These efforts need to be backed up by actions, including, for example, on transparency, concerning the UK’s own nuclear use doctrine and its red lines on force escalation and deterrence options.
  • In other words if the UK and the world are to get back onto a path towards peace, it is vital that the SDR should not focus solely on coercive and military responses to conflicts, nor lose sight of the need to restart moves towards detente and disarmament. For example the UK could convene states to consider ways in which AI, cyber and other emerging technology should be regulated to minimise existential risk and prevent arms races as well as commence a diplomatic push for all NWS to commit to a No First Use nucle­ar weapons policy and engage purposefully with the TPNW.
  • The UK should aim to help create a truly multipolar world order based on international law, diplomacy, a strengthened UN and the principles of inclusion, social justice, and democracy. Rather than using military tools and force to retain influence and control, the UK should prioritise diplomacy and multilateralism, in addition to reducing and regulating arms transfers—especially to repressive states.
  • Given the MOD’s significant budget problems, the government should lead a public conversation on the relative costs and risks of increasing military spending beyond 2% of GDP, including discussion on other areas of public spending which would have to be sacrificed to meet this goal, with a particular focus on projected rises to the nuclear weapons budget over the next decade, and options for reducing this. 
  • To help prevent conflicts involving the major powers escalating up to nuclear war, and assist the world to step back from the precipice of climate catastrophe, the UK should act as a nation amongst nations, not beholden only to the US, but to building wider partnerships—in Europe and beyond. Respondents also highlighted the importance of the UK using its diplomatic prowess rather than military might to help end conflicts in Europe and the Middle East.
  • We do not consider this consultation for the Strategic Defence Review to have been conducted to appropriate standards of public engagement, nor do we consider the government to be engaging in good faith with consultees. We recommend that future UK international policy reviews are designed to be more democratic, transparent, and accountable from the start, including by opening them up to greater consultation and input from the public, civil society groups, and academics. 

NET submission to the government’s Strategic Defence Review