Date
December 1, 1975
Document
- View PDF (4 MB)
Description
This report by the US Congressional Research Service describes the different models of authority in the United States, United Kingdom, France, the Soviet Union, and the People’s Republic of China that shape decisions for nuclear weapons use. The report was “prepared for the Subcommittee on International Security and Scientific Affairs of the Committee on International Relations.”
Commentary
Citation
Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, “Authority to order the use of nuclear weapons,” (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1 December 1975).
Provenance
Topics
1970s | Civilian-military divide | Congressional Research Service | France | Nixon, Richard M. | Nuclear launch procedure | Nuclear safety | People's Republic of China | Predelegation | Presidential nuclear control | Soviet Union | United Kingdom | United States of America
Document entry started by Alex Wellerstein on May 12, 2018. Entry last updated by Mikael Kelly on October 15, 2018.
Created in the wake of the Nixon administration, which had stirred a variety of questions and concerns regarding unilateral Presidential control of nuclear weapons, this report features accounts taken from open sources and should therefore be taken with a grain of salt. As an account of what was known in the open literature by the mid-1970s, the report is a very useful document and touches on first strike, unilateral Presidential control of nuclear weapons, command and control systems, nuclear safety and surety, predelegation, and many other related subjects.