The demise of the biological weapons capability of the United States in 1969 and the advent of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention in 1972 caused governments in the West to go to sleep to the possibility of biological weapons development throughout the rest of the world, as technically knowledgeable workers were transferred and retired, intelligence desks were closed down, and budgets w...

This critical review of the new political science literature on the causes of nuclear weapons proliferation consists of four parts. The first section briefly presents what we know about which states developed nuclear weapons and which states started but abandoned weapons development programs. I highlight the problems that result from uncertainty about the accuracy and completeness of the data. ...

the developments of the iran-iraq war scene following the iranian victory in faw which changed the balance of power in favor of iran caused the iraq not only to intensify her attacks against the residential areas and industrial circles, but also increases the using of chemical weapons during her attacks in ground battles as a deterrent factor. in other words, the iraqi decision-makers when unde...

Modern China has been linked with the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and missile weapons technology to states of proliferation concern, and its compliance with arms control and disarmament is seen as key to the effectiveness of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) nonproliferation efforts. In this context, the answer to Gerald Segal’s question, “Does China really matter?” is most definitely, ...

The elaboration and diversification of sexually selected weapons remain poorly understood. We argue that progress in this topic has been hindered by a strong bias in sexual selection research, and a tendency for weapons to be conflated with ornaments used in mate choice. Here, we outline how male-male competition and female choice are distinct mechanisms of sexual selection, and why weapons and...

Benjamin Heath is a second-year graduate student at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. As a graduate research assistant at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Heath focuses on domestic preparedness issues within the Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorism Project. Within the Chemical and Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Project, Heath researches and analyzes the chemical and...

te c h o p s D irected Energy Weapons (DEW) have been a recurring theme in science fiction literature and cinema ever since H.G. Wells published the ‘War of the Worlds’ in 1898. The idea of a ‘death ray’ that can instantly destroy or burn a target at a distance retains its allure to this very day. More than a century after Wells contrived his ‘heat ray’ the technology is maturing to the point o...

Since the late 1970s, Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Qadhafi has sought to obtain weapons of mass destruction (WMD), particularly chemical and biological weapons (CBW). By the late 1980s, Libya had developed a rudimentary capability to produce such weapons. Western experts view the pursuit of CBW as a means of bolstering Libya’s military capability, since the country lacks effective conventional...

The paper addresses some major implications of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) engineering and nanotechnology for the improvement of existing types of nuclear weapons, and the development of more robust versions of these weapons, as well as for the development of fourth generations nuclear weapons in which nanotechnology will play an essential role.

Arsenals of nuclear weapons have continued to shrink: in December 2001, the United States and Russia completed reductions under START I; the United States has completed reductions under the 1991 Presidential Nuclear Initiatives (PNIs),1 and Russia is reportedly close to completing them.2 The May 2002 Treaty of Moscow will also shrink the operationally deployed strategic nuclear forces of both R...