Arms Control without Arms Control: The Failure of the Biological Weapons Convention Protocol and a New Paradigm for Fighting the Threat of Biological Weapons

Abstract

This is the 49th volume in the Occasional Paper series of the U.S. Air Force Institute for National Security Studies (INSS). Among the many dimensions of national security that face unprecedented changes and challenges after the end of the Cold War, arms control has been as directly affected as any other dimension. The formal, bilateral, and verification-based arms control that was so central to that former period fits neither the new environment nor the expanded focus beyond the strategic nuclear arena. In this paper, Guy Roberts presents yet another of his insightful explanations and analyses of the adaptations and new directions that are required to give arms control continued relevance today and tomorrow. This thorough analysis of the special case of biological warfare controls follows his January 2001 INSS Occasional Paper 36, "This Arms Control Dog Won't Hunt: The Proposed Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty at the Conference on Disarmament," in chronicling both the failure of continuing emphasis on formal Cold War-type arms control products and the enduring centrality of cooperative arms control processes in the current national security environment. In Roberts' line of argument, arms control is indeed dead, yet arms control can and must be reborn in the form of a wide range of integrally linked and multifaceted legal, diplomatic, economic, and military instruments to effectively fight the spread and use of dangerous weapons and systems.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 2003
Accession Number
ADA435071

Entities

People

  • Guy B. Roberts

Organizations

  • United States Air Force Academy

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Arms Control
  • Arms Control Treaties
  • Biological Factors
  • Biological Warfare
  • Disease Outbreaks
  • Employment
  • Genetic Engineering
  • Health Services
  • International Law
  • International Organizations
  • International Relations
  • Medical Personnel
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Treaties
  • Viruses

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Strategic Security Studies