Vraag 2 | Should the Netherlands develop its own nuclear bomb? (Dutch spoken)
For decades, Europe leaned on the military umbrella of nuclear power the United States. If that protection falls away, how should Europe secure itself against nuclear power Russia? Should the Netherlands develop its own nuclear weapons? Find out from historian Ruud van Dijk in the latest episode of Vraag 2 on Spotify.
In this episode of Vraag 2, Jip Koene visits historian Ruud van Dijk in Utrecht. Van Dijk is an expert on the Cold War, in particular the role of nuclear weapons in international relations. During his time as a PhD student, he sat on a geopolitical think tank at Los Alamos National Laboratory, the development laboratory for the atomic bomb in America. The historian thinks it is technically possible to develop nuclear weapons in the Netherlands, politically it is much more complicated.
‘In the early 1960s, the Netherlands had allowed US nuclear weapons on its territory. We always felt very uncomfortable about that,’ says Van Dijk. ‘Since the Biesheuvel cabinet, in the early 1970s, it has been formal cabinet policy to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in international relations, given the risks such weapons pose.’
Van Dijk thinks that, when all is said and done, Europe should be able to counterbalance nuclear power Russia. ‘Given Putin's willingness to deploy nuclear weapons in a desperate situation - think 2022 - there are relatively unattractive options on the table.’ The deployment of nuclear weapons is one of them.
How the Netherlands can develop its own nuclear weapons can be heard in the latest podcast episode on Spotify.
Production & presentation: Jip Koene
Final editor: Irene Schoenmacker
Music: Paolo Argento
