Military Technology Armaments Dynamics And Disarmament

Proceedings from the 11th General Conference of the International Peace Research Association, held at the University of Sussex in April, 1986. Theoretical analyses on the context and on the dual function of military technology, as well as case studies of the third generation of nuclear weapons. More than 30 pages of bibliographic entries focus on SDI, nuclear weapons, international law, and chemical weapons. Acidic paper. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

A long tradition of theoretical and empirical work has been devoted to the question of the driving forces in the arms race since the 1960s. This book takes up the internal factors of arms dynamics, such as bureaucratic politics, interservice rivalry, and the military-industrial complex, as well as external factors such as interactive arms dynamics between the two superpowers. It also deals with the question of technological determinism - the ideas that what is technically possible will be done as opposed to the idea that `politics is in command'. Finally, factors in the international system affecting arms races are also examined, such as long economic waves and power transitions.

An Introduction to Strategic Studies addresses some of the major questions that govern both international relations and human survival. This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the core concepts of contemporary strategic thinking. It argues that strategic studies is about the impact of military technology on relations between states, and that its specialised contribution must always be seen within the broader context of international economic and political relations.

Presented as a successor to the Cold War era book An Introduction to Strategic Studies, this volume explores issues of military security through a framework that links the issues of technology and world politics. Arguing that the technological aspect of the global strategic environment is partway through a centuries- long process of transformation sped up by the advent of the information age, the authors examine such issues as different levels of industrial development on security, what they argue is the relative infrequency of the use of force between states, the use of military threats such as mass destruction, concepts that military means create problems in themselves such as fear of war and insecurity, and finally, ways in which regulatory schemes such as disarmament can be put to use to solve some of those problems. Paper edition (unseen) $22.50. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The nuclear arms race had dominated international politics for the two decades prior to publication. Originally published in 1975, this symposium examines the dynamics of change within the arms race and the attempts at controlling and limiting it. At the time the nuclear arms race was strongly technologically determined, as Herbert York demonstrates in discussing the impact of MIRV. Such progress as has been made in nuclear disarmament has been far outdistanced by the technological developments so that, as Jack Ruina argues, SALT is only important when seen as part of a process of negotiating arms limitations. The most significant result of this technological advance has been the emergence of a qualitatively new system of international politics which Hans Morgenthau analyses. This system is essentially bipolar in nuclear terms and the history of the disarmament negotiations, as reviewed by William Epstein, is an exercise in freezing this structure. The negotiations themselves, particularly SALT, and the prospects for further progress are discussed extensively by Thomas Schelling, Kosta Tsipis, George Rathjens and others. The book also surveys developments in chemical and biological warfare and includes an important paper on chemical warfare agents by the Soviet chemist, O.A. Ruetov. The final section looks at recent developments in the theory of conflict and its applications in the Middle East, South Africa and a number of developing countries.