A politically-tinted rationality: Britain vs. EURATOM, 1955-63

This essay focuses on the antagonistic aspects of UK-Euratom relations. Nuclear engineering was perceived as a flamboyant attribute of power status, which could avail to substantiate the idea of Britain as a first-class country. By this way, consideration of prestige came to influence supposedly rational, scientific choices in a decision-making process affected by lowest-common-denominator practices. It explains why the comparably pragmatic approach, adopted by the Foreign Office from 1960, could not prevail on the unremitting hostility of the U.K. Atomic Energy Authority. In fact, the latter intended non merely fencing off military activities, but also keeping control of R&D projects, such as the fast breeder reactor,. The final result was a comprehensively negative, unrealistic negotiating approach.