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201. Chinese missile technology control-regime or no regime?

Author:
Niels Aadal Rasmussen
Publication Date:
02-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Since China has an interest in delivery systems of Weapons of Mass Destruction, and the main strategic capability available to the country is missile technology, China has a range of ballistic and cruise missile capabilities. China's technology export or proliferation of ballistic missile technology is of particular and serious concern. China has not joined the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), but has applied for membership and pledged to abide by its main control mechanisms. The Brief concludes that it seems unhelpful to deny China's accession to the MTCR on the grounds of inadequate missile export control, in stead of seeking ways to bring China's missile technology export control policy and infrastructure to the acceptable level. The MTCR in the present international situation appears increasingly less dependent on exclusively bringing likeminded countries inside the regime and more on inclusiveness.
Topic:
Defense Policy, International Political Economy, Science and Technology, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
China

202. The Pugwash Newsletter: To the Pugwash Community

Publication Date:
12-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs
Abstract:
The year 2007 marks the 50th anniversary of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. Little could the original 21 participants at the July 1957 meeting in Pugwash, Nova Scotia have imagined that, fifty years later, the Pugwash organization would have convened over 320 workshops, symposia and conferences on major security issues, have national groups and representatives in more than 50 countries around the world, and have been honored with the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
Europe and Middle East

203. The CBRN System: Assessing the threat of terrorist use of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons in the UK

Author:
Dr Paul Cornish
Publication Date:
02-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
In early November 2006 Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, head of Britain's Security Service (known as MI5) warned that the danger to the United Kingdom of terrorist attack was 'serious' and 'growing', with as many as thirty terrorist plots under way. She argued that 'tomorrow's threat may–I suggest will–include the use of chemicals, bacteriological agents, radioactive materials and even nuclear technology'.
Topic:
Security, Terrorism, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

204. The UK Contribution to the G8 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons of Mass Destruction, 2002-06

Author:
Paul Cornish
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
The G8 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction was established at the G8 summit meeting in Kananaskis, Canada in June 2002. The Kananaskis summit produced a new prescription for international cooperation in non-proliferation. The 'ten plus ten over ten' formula was intended to provide the means for tighter control over chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) weapons and materials, initially in Russia and then elsewhere, and particularly to prevent terrorist acquisition of such devices and technologies. In the founding document of the Global Partnership, the 'Statement by G8 Leaders', the following were listed as 'among our priority concerns': the destruction of chemical weapons; the dismantlement of decommissioned nuclear submarines; the disposal of fissile materials; and finding alternative employment for former weapons scientists. The UK government had been contributing to work in this field for several years before Kananaskis, and has been a leading participant in the G8 Global Partnership since its inception.
Topic:
Nuclear Weapons, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and International Security
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Japan, United Kingdom, Europe, Canada, and Asia

205. Nuclear Weapons: The Politics of Non-Proliferation

Author:
Christine Wing
Publication Date:
04-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
Questions related to nuclear weapons are highly contested in the international arena—including the question of how these weapons constitute a challenge to human and international security. Does the challenge exist mainly in the incorporation of these weapons into military doctrines, or in the possibility that more states and/or terrorists will acquire nuclear capabilities? Have nuclear weapons and nuclear deterrence prevented major wars, or are they ultimately destabilizing—or could both be true?
Topic:
Nuclear Weapons, Peace Studies, Weapons of Mass Destruction, International Security, and International Affairs

206. The UN Security Council's Counterterrorism Program: What Lies Ahead?

Author:
Alistair Millar, Eric Rosand, and Jason Ipe
Publication Date:
10-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
Since September 2001, the Security Council and its various counterterrorism-related subsidiary bodies have made significant contributions to the global counterterrorism campaign, primarily through norm setting and institution building and by keeping terrorism on the political agenda while engaging in dialogue with—and stimulating the activities of—states and multilateral bodies. Yet, rather than together constituting a comprehensive strategy to address the global terrorist threat, each Council initiative has had an improvisational, ad hoc quality. Following each major terrorist attack—often against one of its own members—the Council's response has extended well beyond the specific incident at hand with little regard to its relation to the already existing Council program.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Peace Studies, Terrorism, United Nations, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and International Security

207. Origins of the United States-India Nuclear Agreement

Author:
Itty Abraham
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
Relations between the world's largest democracy, India, and the oldest, the United States, have never been better. The preeminent sign of this improved state of relations is, of course, the recent concord between the governments of both countries that proposes bilateral cooperation on a variety of fronts, from space to agriculture, but especially in relation to civilian nuclear cooperation. Bilateral agreements signed in July 2005 in Washington, D.C., and following President Bush's visit to India in March 2006,1 were hailed as historic, seemingly marking the end of “estrangement,” to borrow Ambassador Dennis Kux's characterization of relations between the two countries. But for all its claims to be “historic,” the agreements were not greeted equally, or with equal acclaim, in both capitals.
Topic:
Nuclear Weapons, Treaties and Agreements, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
United States, South Asia, and India

208. Korea and Northeast Asia Peace and Security Framework

Author:
James Goodby and Jack N. Merritt
Publication Date:
04-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
The United States has few more important policy goals than eliminating North Korea's nuclear weapons program. The risk that the repressive Pyongyang regime could transfer nuclear weapons and materials to rogue states or terrorist groups weighs particularly heavy on the minds of U.S. policymakers.
Topic:
Foreign Policy and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
United States, Asia, and North Korea

209. Thoughts on the Day After

Author:
Michael May
Publication Date:
04-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for International Security and Cooperation
Abstract:
This note consists of some observations on the “Day After, ” or perhaps “Minutes to Months After” that I thought might be useful. They are derived from work done in the past few years, in part for DHS and its predecessor agencies. That work included observing and providing comments on the Topoff 2 Federal-State-Local coordination exercise of 2002-2003. These notes also derive from a workshop we did in 2002 that brought together first responders, media and scientists to discuss the aftermath of a nuclear explosion in the SF Bay Area. I make no attempt at being comprehensive but note a few things that, in our experience, have not seemed obvious to all participants. The notes are divided into two parts, “Response and Recovery” and “Political Reaction”.
Topic:
Security, Nuclear Weapons, Science and Technology, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
San Francisco

210. Force and Restraint in Strategic Deterrence: A Game-Theorist's Perspective

Author:
Roger B. Myerson
Publication Date:
11-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College
Abstract:
In a dangerous world, we need to think very carefully about how military force is used. Game theory can serve us in such analyses by providing a framework for probing the inextricable connections between our adversaries' decision problems and our own. To illustrate the power of game theory, the author focuses on a vital question that confronts American policymakers today: What determines why an application of military force, which was intended to deter potential adversaries, sometimes instead stimulates them to more militant reactions against us? When we feel that force is necessary, what can we do to minimize the risk of such adverse reactions?
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Nuclear Weapons, War, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
America