Alternative Defense Polieies and the Peace Movement

Abstract

In recent years several alternative defense policies have been developed which promise to diminish or eliminate the role of nuclear weapons in the defense of Western Europe, thereby fulfilling a major demand of the peace movement. It is argued that these alternatives and the peace movement have a common political background in the changing relaitonship between the U.S. and Western Europe. Furthermore, it is shown that the alternatives are also part of a long-standing debate on the uses of modern technology for defense. Presently developing NATO doctrine (Deep Strike) can be seen as a specific solution to both the issues of relations within the alliance and of military technology. Criticism of this doctrine by proponents of alternative defense policies is presented, clarifying the criteria used in the construction of the alternatives. Three types of alternatives are then characterized. First the proposals for No First Use and Inflexible Response, which are mainly concerned with the use and non-use of nuclear weapons; then the proposals for a conventional forward defense; lastly the proposals for conventional defense in depth. In a final paragraph it is shown how the different elements of these alternatives could merge in a general new approach to security in Europe. The prospects for this alternative approach to find political support are discussed briefly.