Arms Watch

This report documents the government submissions to the UN on the transfer of arms in seven weapons categories in 1992 and compares this data with information published by SIPRI in its arms trade register. It assesses the results of the UN register and the prospects for improving it in 1994.

This report, jointly sponsored by SIPRI and the Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA), draws together the work of eight experts on armaments and Asia-Pacific security affairs to present analysis and extensive data on arms- and defence-related tranparency mechanisms in South-East Asia. It also includes a de facto arms trade re gister for South-East Asia covering the period 1975-96. The book will prove useful to security analysts and policy makers seeking analysis of and practical approaches to transparency and confidence building in South-East Asia.

Despite clear legal rules and political commitments, no significant progress has been made in nuclear disarmament for two decades. Moreover, not even the use of these weapons has been banned to date. New ideas and strategies are therefore necessary. The author explores an alternative approach to arms control focusing on the human dimension rather than on States’ security: "humanization" of arms control! The book explores the preparatory work on arms control treaties and in particular the role of civil society. It analyzes the positive experiences of the movements against chemical weapons, anti-personnel mines, and cluster munitions, as well as the recent conclusion of the Arms Trade Treaty. The author examines the question of whether civil society will be able to replicate the success strategies that have been used, in particular, in the field of anti-personnel mines (Ottawa Convention) and cluster munitions (Oslo Convention) in the nuclear weapons field. Is there any reason why the most destructive weapons should not be outlawed by a legally binding instrument? The book also explains the effects of weapons, especially nuclear weapons, on human beings, the environment, and global development, thereby focusing on vulnerable groups, such as indigenous peoples, women, and children. It takes a broad approach to human rights, including economic, social, and cultural rights. The author concludes that the use of nuclear weapons is illegal under international humanitarian and human rights law and, moreover, constitutes international crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. In his general conclusions, the author makes concrete proposals for the progress toward a world without nuclear weapons.

With the post-cold war emphasis on the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the neglected dimension has been the spread of advanced conventional arms. Yet these are the arms most likely to be used in conflict. They present the greatest diversion from economic and social development, and are the centerpiece of regional security balances. This book examines the policies and practices of the major arms-supplying nations, looks at the impact of weapons purchases on the principal recipient regions and the possibilities for regional arms control, and dissects the economics of arms exports for the producer nations in both the developing and industrialized worlds. The book thoroughly discusses the opportunities for, and obstacles to, achieving multilateral restraint on arms. In addition to the editor, contributors are Ian Anthony, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute; Nicole Ball, Overseas Development Council; Julian Cooper, University of Birmingham; Lawrence Freedman and Martin Navias, King's College, London; Rodney Jones, Policy Architects International; Ethan Kapstein, University of Minnesota; Michael Klare, Five College Program in Peace and World Security Studies; Andrew Mack, Australian National University; Abdel Monem Said Aly, Center for Political and Strategic Studies, Cairo; Janne Nolan, Brookings Institution; Andrew Ross, Naval War College; Gerald Segal, International Institute for Strategic Studies; and Gerald Steinberg, Bar-Ilan University, Israel. Copublished with the World Peace Foundation

"Historical Dictionary of Arms Control and Disarmament also provides information that is comprehensible to all readers. Jeffrey A. Larsen and James M. Smith present a context for the broader range of international relations at a given point in time, extending the utility of the dictionary beyond just a narrow examination of arms control."--BOOK JACKET.

The studies show how military strategy, planned forces, and the age of systems in the current inventory affect the domestic demand for new production; how the recent drop in domestic demand affects arms industries; and the extent to which governments and firms in the arms-producing nations are turning to exports to sustain the industries. In the shrinking arms market of the post-Cold War era, countries with advanced arms industries face difficult choices concerning force size, arms production, arms export, and defense industrial capacity. This book explores the links among these issues through a detailed study of the combat aircraft industries in the United States, Russia, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Sweden--the seven countries that develop, produce, and export all of the world's technologically advanced weapon systems. The studies show how military strategy, planned forces, and the age of systems in the current inventory affect the domestic demand for new production; how the recent drop in domestic demand affects arms industries; and the extent to which governments and firms in the arms-producing nations are turning to exports to sustain the industries. Stunning changes in Russia's combat aircraft forces, industry, and strategy are detailed here for the first time, as are expected future Russian combat aircraft exports to China. Newly compiled data also show that in the United States and Russia and globally, arms production for export will exceed production for domestic use for the first time in history, starting in 1995. Arms production is thus increasingly dominated by commercial rather than security interests. Ultimately at issue is whether governments will exploit the opportunity offered by the dramatic post-Cold War contraction of the world arms market to reduce their armed forces and constrain international arms trade while shrinking the arms industry--or keep pushing arms exports that generate new threats and justify larger armed forces, more arms production, and bigger arms industries.