Weapons of Mass Destruction The Search for Global Security
Product details
Biographical note
Joseph M. Siracusa is professor in human security and international diplomacy at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University, in Melbourne, Australia, and president of Australia’s Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS).
Aiden Warren is senior lecturer in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies and researcher in the Centre for Global Research (CGR) at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University, in Melbourne, Australia.
Comprehensive and timely, Weapons of Mass Destruction is focused firmly upon the security challenges that WMD, nuclear and non-nuclear, pose to the 21st century. It presents a finely-judged account of the successive phases of nuclear history, blending well-grounded historical summaries with acute policy commentary. Writing with admirable clarity, Siracusa and Warren document how the road from 1945 led us to where we are today, with nuclear terror compounded by the insidious threats of chemical and biological attack. They show how the knife-edge stability of the Cold War was seceded by the emergence of new players and new threats which together transform the global security threat.
- Ken Young, professor in the Department of War Studies, King's College London,
If you want to understand the contemporary nuclear age, how we got here, and where we are headed, look no further than this tour de force by Joseph Siracusa and Aiden Warren. Unlike previous treatments of the nuclear age which tended to focus overwhelmingly on the superpower experience, Siracusa and Warren deftly contextualize the entire nuclear age by giving equal treatment to the proliferation histories and challenges presented by regional nuclear powers—precisely those powers that pose the greatest challenge to nuclear security and nonproliferation today. This book belongs on the shelf of anyone who cares literally about the future of the world.
- Vipin Narang, associate professor of political science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),
Joseph Siracusa and Aiden Warren are internationally-recognized security studies scholars based in Australia and their new book, Weapons of Mass Destruction, provides an excellent overview of the past, present, and future of WMD challenges. The book is highly recommend to students who will gain from a comprehensive examination of the major issues and to more seasoned experts who will benefit from the authors’ original insights and analysis.
- Matthew Kroenig, associate professor of government and foreign service, Georgetown University,
Siracusa and Warren achieve an exceptional feat by packing several decades worth of WMD history into a neat read. They take us on a journey starting in the Cold War and guide us to today, telling the story of how most destructive weapons remained a steady and dangerous fixture of the international security landscape. The authors provided true service to the field by writing a foundational text that serves as a perfect introduction to the field of WMD non-proliferation.
- Togzhan Kassenova, Nuclear Policy Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace,
Whether possessed by a state or non-state actor, the specter of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs), and more specifically, nuclear weapons and their associated material, present a significant threat to global security. Notwithstanding the fact that there are fewer nuclear weapons today than the massive stockpiles that existed during the height of the Cold War, the complexities relating to nuclear security have in many ways intensified amid globalization and porous borders. More states in volatile regions possess such weapons, UN Security Council states are busily modernizing their weapons, and non-states actors have made it clear their intention to use such weapons should they attain them. The emerging prospect of a cyber-attack, or a misunderstanding that could potentially evolve into a limited regional nuclear war, would both have dire global ramifications and are scenarios that should not be considered farfetched. Additionally, concerns pertaining to chemical and biological weapons, the associated ramifications relating to nuclear terrorism, and broader limitations of the NPT regime, all pose major challenges to global stability. In considering all of these areas, this foundational primer for the Rowman and Littlefield WMD Series seeks to inform and advance policy debate in ways that support international security, while also adding important connective tissue between analytical areas in the IR and historical domains that often remain separate.
Offering a comprehensive analysis of the evolution and current status of WMDs, this volume will be of great interest to scholars, analysts, and students of security studies, international history, and international relations.
Abbreviations/Acronyms
Introduction
Chapter 1. World War II and the Race for the A-Bomb
Chapter 2. The Cold War
Part a: The Nuclear Arms Race and NSC 68
Part b: Reagan, Gorbachev and the end of the Cold War
Chapter 3. UN Security Council Nuclear Weapon States (NWS) – United Kingdom, France and China
Chapter 4. Non-UN Security Council Nuclear Weapon States – Israel, India, Pakistan, North Korea (and Iran)
Chapter 5. The Global Nuclear Non-proliferation Regime
Chapter 6. The Modern Era: The Post-Cold War and Beyond
Chapter 7. Biological and Chemical Weapons, and Nuclear Terrorism
Conclusion
Bibliography
This series focuses on weapons of mass destruction (WMD) (nuclear, chemical, radiological, biological) and the consequences or threats deriving from the advent of new and emerging technologies (AI, cyber, autonomous weapons, drones, and a range of others). The series welcomes a variety historical, contemporary, traditional, and non-traditional approaches from emerging scholars, established academics and/or those involved in the IR, foreign policy, and security domains. The series seeks to attain assessments that unpack the concerns and complexities deriving from nuclear weapons and the other WMD variants. Clearly, today, more states in more unstable regions have attained such weapons, terrorists continue to pursue them, and the command and control systems in even the most sophisticated states remain susceptible not only to system and human error but, increasingly, to cyber-attacks. The failure of armed states to disarm, the inability to prevent new states and non-state actors from gaining access to WMDs, and the expansion of nuclear energy plants present a real security danger. All views across the disarmament, non-proliferation, arms control and deterrence spectrum in addressing such concerns are welcome. The series also extends its reach and engagement with the emergence of new technologies in the context of global security, including: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics; Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), such as drones; and the advent of Lethally Autonomous Weapons (LAWs) which raise ethical questions about the use (and misuse) of military power. Additionally, other emergent technologies contributing to the complexity of security dynamics including 3D printing, nanotechnology and quantum computing, bioengineering, and digitisation technologies are also explored. The contribution of the volumes in the series are timely and necessary. International Advisory Board:Philip Baxter, Center for Policy Research at the University of Albany, SUNYElisabeth Röhrlich, University of ViennaSarah Kreps, Cornell UniversityReuben Steff, University of WaikatoJulia Macdonald, University of Denver
Series Editors: Aiden Warren and Joseph M. Siracusa
Product details
Biographical note
Joseph M. Siracusa is professor in human security and international diplomacy at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University, in Melbourne, Australia, and president of Australia’s Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS).
Aiden Warren is senior lecturer in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies and researcher in the Centre for Global Research (CGR) at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University, in Melbourne, Australia.