Search

Begin New Search Topic Arms Control and Proliferation Publication Year within 25 Years

601. Surveying Europe's Production and Procurement of Small Arms and Light Weapons Ammunition

Author:
Benjamin King(ed.)
Publication Date:
07-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Small Arms Survey
Abstract:
Enumerating a state's demand and supply chains for small arms and light weapons ammunition remains a difficult undertaking. This is largely an outcome of many nations' reluctance to fully disclose information, together with poor accounting practices that hide the value of the data in aggregate totals. This working paper illustrates these challenges by detailing the most comprehensive picture possible of three countries' procurement, production, and exportation of ammunition for small arms and light weapons. Given the variety in transparency and disparate means of disclosure, each researcher took a unique approach towards fact finding. Comprehensive data on procurement, production, and exports was not uncovered in any of the cases, as none of these three countries compiles or publicizes such information. Instead, the best information available was gathered through a compilation of sources from each country.
Topic:
Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, and War
Political Geography:
Europe

602. The time has come for a treaty to ban weapons in space

Author:
Peter Van Ness
Publication Date:
08-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Australian National University Department of International Relations
Abstract:
An arms race in space among the major powers would be immensely dangerous, destabilising and expensive. Russia, which has a long history in space technology dating back to Sputnik in 1957, does not have the resources or the political will to sustain such a race. But China does. This is principally an issue between the United States and China. Some analysts say that it is too late to conclude a treaty to ban weapons in space, but others argue that, if not a treaty, then perhaps a code of conduct might work. It is in the interests of both the US and China — and the world! — that the weaponisation of space be stopped. On 28 June 2010, President Obama announced a New National Space Policy with a central goal 'to promote peaceful cooperation and collaboration in space', and he invited arms control proposals to help make that happen. Now is the time. Australia, enjoying close relations with both the US and China, could play an important role in encouraging the major powers to reach such an agreement.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Treaties and Agreements, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, and China

603. Debt, Deficits and Defense: A Way Forward

Publication Date:
06-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Project on Defense Alternatives
Abstract:
At a time of growing concern over federal deficits, it is essential that all elements of the federal budget be subjected to careful scrutiny. The Pentagon budget should be no exception. As Secretary of Defense Robert Gates noted in a recent speech, paraphrasing President Dwight D. Eisenhower, “The United States should spend as much as necessary on national defense, but not one penny more.”
Topic:
Defense Policy and Arms Control and Proliferation
Political Geography:
United States

604. Global Commons and Domain Interrelationships: Time for a New Conceptual Framework?

Author:
Mark E. Redden and Michael P. Hughes
Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
Over the last several years, examination of U.S. national security interests within the context of the global commons has emerged as a major policy issue in the defense community. At the highest levels of the Department of Defense (DOD), there is now an awareness that the U.S. military will be confronted by a host of challenges “to stability throughout the global commons.” Furthermore, the Nation can “expect to be increasingly challenged in securing and maintaining access to the global commons and must also be prepared for operations in unfamiliar conditions and environments.” In response, the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review Report has now assigned “assured access” to the commons as a top priority for U.S. military forces.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Counterinsurgency
Political Geography:
United States

605. The Drag on India's Military Growth

Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
India's remarkable economic growth and newfound access to arms from abroad have raised the prospect of a major rearmament of the country. But without several policy and organizational changes, India's efforts to modernize its armed forces will not alter the country's ability to deal with critical security threats. Our research suggests that India's military modernization needs a transparent, legitimate and efficient procurement process. Further, a chief of defense staff could reconcile the competing priorities across the three military services. Finally, India's defense research agencies need to be subjected to greater oversight.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Development
Political Geography:
India

606. South-east European Surplus Arms: State Policies and Practices,

Publication Date:
11-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Small Arms Survey
Abstract:
Ensuring the physical security and proper management of national inventories and surplus stocks is key to minimizing potential hazardous effects on populations and environments surrounding depots.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Environment, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
Europe

607. Some of the Best Weapons for Counterinsurgents Do Not Shoot

Author:
Eric T. Olson
Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College
Abstract:
If the U.S. Army's current experience in ongoing overseas operations like those in Iraq and Afghanistan are any indication, reconstruction has become an integral part of the American way of war. And judging from the disappointing results of reconstruction efforts in these operations, measured mostly in terms of the effect that such efforts have had on the course of these wars, there is much lacking in the Army's understanding of reconstruction itself and the role that it will likely play in all future operations, especially in counterinsurgencies (COIN).
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Arms Control and Proliferation, Terrorism, War, and Counterinsurgency
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and United States

608. An Army Transformed: The U.S. Army's Post-Vietnam Recovery and the Dynamics of Change in Military Organizations

Author:
Suzanne C. Nielsen
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College
Abstract:
During the 2 decades preceding the Persian Gulf War in 1991, the U.S. Army went through tremendous reform and rejuvenation. It recovered from the Vietnam War, transitioned to an all-volunteer personnel model, and refocused on a potential future war against a very capable adversary in Europe. The Army's transformation was evident to external observers: from being seen as an organization in distress in the early 1970s, by 1991 the Army became an organization whose professionalism was the source of admiration. Drawing on the relevant literature, the author seeks to explain this important case of military change.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, War, and Counterinsurgency
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, and Vietnam

609. Hello Missile Defence–Goodbye Nuclear Sharing?

Author:
Trine Flockhart
Publication Date:
11-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:
It appears likely that NATO's new strategic concept, although largely only confirming the status quo on nuclear policy, will also set out the bold decision to adopt a Ballistic Missile Defence System.Through this combination the new strategic concept looks set to herald radical change in long cherished principles about nuclear sharing and to directly address sensitive issues of Alliance cohesion and deterrence posture.
Topic:
Defense Policy, NATO, Arms Control and Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
Russia and Europe

610. A new farewell to arms: Viewing disarmament in a new security environment

Author:
Jean Pascal Zanders
Publication Date:
12-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
European Union Institute for Security Studies
Abstract:
In 1909 Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey, Viscount Grey of Fallodon, prophesied the outbreak of World War I when he declared that the naval arms race between Britain and Germany had become the most important single factor increasing tensions and the risk of war in Europe. The judgement captures the kernel of disarmament: certain types of weaponry are inherently so destabilising to international peace and security that they should preferably be removed from the military arsenals. Disarmament became a major objective of the League of Nations in the 1920s and 1930s. Under the Charter of the United Nations it is a responsibility of the General Assembly (Article 11) and the Security Council (Article 26). Today, as in the past, disarmament is one of the policy options available to governments to enhance national security. Barring a decision to unilaterally renounce a particular weapon category or coercive destruction of military equipment following defeat in war, it forms an integral part of cooperative security that aims for stability, predictability and transparency in international relations based on equal rights and obligations for all parties concerned.
Topic:
Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
Europe, Germany, and United Nations