ABSTRACT
With the obvious exception of the Soviet Union, the only European countries that maintain, or have ever maintained, nuclear weapons are France and the United Kingdom. Both Britain and France, as parties to the North Atlantic Treaty, are as much protected by US nuclear strength as the other European North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) states, just as both arc ultimately as much exposed to Soviet military power. The fact that Britain and France, despite treading such delicate ground in justifying their nuclear forces, remain the only European nuclear-weapon states is the strongest possible testimony to the former influence in Europe of specific national history when identifying and exercising nuclear options. Of the NATO members, perhaps Italy has been the scene of the most open and persistent advocacy of a national nuclear force by senior political and official figures.
