Current revolutions in biotechnology and neuroscience are changing military technologies, necessitating dramatic re-evaluations in arms regulatory regimes. This book assesses how these new technologies can be used in weapons systems—by governments and terrorists alike—and whether this frightening development can be brought under effective international control. Dando begins by surveying the existing (and arguably inadequate) control mechanisms for chemical and biological weapons. He then discusses how earlier generations of toxin and bioregulatory weapons have been developed by such states as Iraq, the former Soviet Union, and the United States, and explains, in nontechnical terms, the scientific advances that have implications for new weapons technology.
Considering how international law might be applied to constrain undesirable military developments without restricting technological developments for peaceful purposes, Dando concludes with a proposal for an integrated control regime that would link international agreements, national legislation, and trade regulations.
Malcolm Dando is professor of international security in the Department of Peace Studies, University of Bradford (UK). Trained originally as a biologist, since 1979 he has concentrated on problems of arms control and disarmament. His recent publications include A New Form of Warfare and Peacekeeping and Peacemaking (coauthored with T. Woodhouse and R. Bruce).
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