President Obama and the UK Labour and Coalition governments have all backed the renewed momentum for serious progress towards a world free of nuclear weapons, whilst the UK finds itself embarked on a controversial and expensive programme to renew its Trident nuclear weapons system. What does the UK process tell about the prospects for disarmament?

DR NICK RITCHIE is a Lecturer in International Security at the University of York, UK, where he teaches International Relations, War and Peace, and US national security. His work on UK nuclear weapons policy has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust.