ABSTRACT
In the 1970s the conflict-ridden years of the first cold war had given way to an era of the coexistence between the superpowers. Arms control, economic and cultural links, the acceptance by each superpower of the ‘legitimate interests’ of the other were all features of detente. The conservatives have been variously referred to as the ‘ideologues’, the New Right, and the radical right. In Britain the term ‘dries’ is sometimes used to distinguish a conservative Conservative from the more pragmatic variety. The rise of the disarmament lobby was the most visible indicator of the breakdown of ‘consensus’ around the defence. Its members were both numerous and diverse in their social and political backgrounds. A common justification for increases in the western military power has been that the Soviet Union has a lead in particular – and crucial – technologies.
