Words of Deterrence: The Northwood Declaration and European Nuclear Deterrence : A thesis about the Northwood Declaration as a strategic narrative and as a springboard towards European nuclear deterrence.

This thesis investigates strategic narratives of nuclear deterrence, critically examining the coherence between narrative construction and military-strategic realities in European defence policies. Using the Northwood Declaration, a nuclear coordination agreement between the United Kingdom and France, as the basis for analysis, the thesis applies a framework that combines strategic narrative analysis with classical nuclear deterrence. This framework is used to discuss how strategic narratives intersect with nuclear deterrence credibility in a contemporary European context. Employing Thematic Analysis, Northwood is analysed to determine whether it constitutes a persuasive strategic narrative of European nuclear deterrence. The analysis further evaluates whether Northwood credibly signals a nuclear deterrence commitment when assessed alongside with the national nuclear doctrines of the United Kingdom and France. The findings suggest that while the Northwood Declaration is a successful strategic narrative in the short term, it falls short of credibly signaling a sustained commitment to European nuclear deterrence when established national doctrines are taken into account. The thesis highlights the importance of incorporating narrative-based perspectives into deterrence studies and opens up for further research on evolving European nuclear policies.