20. Weapons of Mass Destruction

Biological Weapons ◽

Chemical Weapons ◽

Mass Destruction ◽

State Actors

This chapter examines how weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) work and the effects they might have if used on the battlefield or against civilian targets. The threat posed by WMD proliferation to state actors is of increasing concern, and it is even more alarming if these weapons are deployed for terrorism purposes. A chemical weapons attack against a major sporting venue, for example, could kill thousands of people, while a successful anthrax attack might place hundreds of thousands at risk. The chapter considers how WMDs such as nuclear weapons, chemical weapons, and biological weapons have been used in war and how they have shaped the practice of international politics.

The Two Faces of Opposition to Chemical Weapons: Sincere Versus Insincere Norm-Holders

Journal of Conflict Resolution ◽

10.1177/00220027211057057 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 002200272110570

Author(s):

Christopher W. Blair ◽

Jonathan A. Chu ◽

Joshua A. Schwartz

Keyword(s):

Nuclear Weapons ◽

International Politics ◽

Chemical Weapons ◽

Mass Destruction ◽

Mass Public ◽

Direct Question

Prominent research holds that the use of weapons of mass destruction is taboo. But how strong are these norms? Investigating this question among the mass public, we argue that some citizens actually support taboo policies in private but are unwilling to express counter-normative opinions openly due to fear of social sanction. These insincere norm-holders are difficult to identify empirically because they are observationally equivalent to sincere norm-holders in direct-question surveys. To overcome this challenge, we use a list design, which allows survey respondents to indirectly express sensitive opinions. The results from three list experiments show that between 10% and 17% of Americans falsify their preferences over chemical weapons use when asked directly. In an extension, we explore our framework in the realm of nuclear weapons and elite behavior. Our findings advance a specific debate on the strength of weapons taboos, while our conceptualization of insincere norm-holders and methodological application have broader implications for how scholars might think about and measure norms in international politics.

Unconventional Weapons

Wars of Modern Babylon ◽

10.5810/kentucky/9780813169439.003.0058 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Pesach Malovany ◽

Amatzia Baram ◽

Kevin M. Woods ◽

Ronna Englesberg

Keyword(s):

International Atomic Energy Agency ◽

Atomic Energy ◽

Foreign Assistance ◽

Biological Weapons ◽

Chemical Weapons ◽

Mass Destruction ◽

Energy Agency ◽

Nuclear Device

The chapter deals with the Iraqi efforts to develop and produce weapons of mass destruction—chemical, biological and nuclear. It describes the various projects in each field, their history, the foreign assistance they got, the infrastructure the Iraqis built for them, their achievements and types of weapons the Iraqis produces and their arsenals, especially of the Chemical and Biological weapons. The efforts of the U. N. supervisory commissions (UNSCOM) and the international Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to disarm Iraq from those weapons and capabilities to renew the development and production of them by Iraq after 1991. The use of chemical weapons by the Iraqis against the Kurds and the Iranian forces during the war between the two countries, and the possibility of using them against coalition forces during the wars in 1991 and 2003. The Iraqi efforts to achieve a nuclear device in a crash program before the war in 1991.

Efforts to Address Iraqi Compliance with UN Weapons Inspections

The American Journal of International Law ◽

10.2307/3070692 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 96 (4) ◽

pp. 956-962 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Sean D. Murphy

Keyword(s):

Security Council ◽

Nuclear Weapons ◽

Biological Weapons ◽

Mass Destruction ◽

Enforcement Action ◽

Medical Supplies ◽

Ballistic Missiles ◽

On Site Inspection

At the conclusion of the 1991 UN enforcement action against Iraq, the Security Council adopted a resolution setting the terms for a cease-fire. The resolution required, among other things, that Iraq “unconditionally accept the destruction, removal, or rendering harmless, under international supervision,” of all chemical and biological weapons, all ballistic missiles with a range greater than 150 kilometers, and associated materials and facilities. Further, the resolution provided for the creation of a UN special commission to carry out “on-site inspection of Iraq's biological, chemical and missile capabilities,” and ordered Iraq to yield such weapons to the commission for “destruction, removal or rendering harmless.” Similar requirements were imposed with respect to the acquisition and development of nuclear weapons. While maintaining the economic sanctions imposed on Iraq after its invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, the Security Council allowed exports to Iraq of foodstuffs and medical supplies (on the condition that a UN sanctions committee had been notified) and also other commodities (if approved by the same committee). The Security Council decided that the sanctions regime would be lifted, however, once Iraq complied with its obligations on the destruction and monitoring of weapons of mass destruction.

29. Proliferation of weapons of mass destruction

The Globalization of World Politics ◽

10.1093/hepl/9780198825548.003.0029 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 466-480

Author(s):

Sheena Chestnut Greitens

Keyword(s):

World Politics ◽

The Other ◽

Biological Weapons ◽

Chemical Weapons ◽

Mass Destruction ◽

International Intervention ◽

Nuclear Disaster ◽

Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

This chapter focuses on the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). It examines the patterns that can be observed in the spread and use/non-use of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons since 1945, how nuclear weapons have changed world politics, and whether non-proliferation efforts have been successful. The chapter first provides an overview of WMD technology and its spread before discussing biological and chemical weapons. It then considers theoretical debates about nuclear proliferation and the evolution of non-proliferation efforts. Two case studies are presented, one dealing with the Fukushima nuclear disaster and the other with the nuclear programmes of North Korea and Iran. There is also an Opposing Opinions box that asks whether the use of chemical weapons in 2013 should have been a red line triggering international intervention in Syria.

Can Biological, Toxin, and Chemical Warfare be Eliminated?

Politics and the Life Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0730938400017172 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 30-32 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Meryl Nass

Keyword(s):

Chemical Warfare ◽

Biological Weapons ◽

Chemical Weapons ◽

Mass Destruction ◽

International Treaty ◽

Similar Chemical ◽

Biological Weapons Convention

Is it possible to prevent biological, chemical, and toxin warfare from occurring? The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), an international treaty banning the possession and hostile use of biological and toxin weapons, already exists; and a similar chemical weapons treaty is currently being negotiated. The older Geneva Protocol of 1925 bans the “first use” of these weapons in war. It might seem that the threat of use of these weapons of mass destruction is nearly at an end.

26. Proliferation of weapons of mass destruction

The Globalization of World Politics ◽

10.1093/hepl/9780198739852.003.0026 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Sheena Chestnut Greitens

Keyword(s):

World Politics ◽

The Other ◽

Biological Weapons ◽

Chemical Weapons ◽

Mass Destruction ◽

International Intervention ◽

Nuclear Disaster ◽

Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

This chapter focuses on the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). It examines the patterns that can be observed in the spread and use/non-use of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons since 1945, how nuclear weapons have changed world politics, and whether non-proliferation efforts have been successful. The chapter first provides an overview of WMD technology and its spread before discussing biological and chemical weapons. It then considers theoretical debates about nuclear proliferation and the evolution of non-proliferation efforts. Two case studies are presented, one dealing with the Fukushima nuclear disaster and the other with the nuclear programmes of North Korea and Iran. There is also an Opposing Opinions box that asks whether the use of chemical weapons in 2013 should have been a red line triggering international intervention in Syria.

Weapons of mass destruction: an encyclopedia of worldwide policy, technology, and history: v.1: Chemical and biological weapons; v.2: Nuclear weapons

Choice Reviews Online ◽

10.5860/choice.42-6236 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 42 (11) ◽

pp. 42-6236-42-6236

Keyword(s):

Nuclear Weapons ◽

Biological Weapons ◽

Mass Destruction ◽

Chemical And Biological Weapons

Dialogue on Middle East Biological, Nuclear, and Chemical Weapons Disarmament

Alternatives Global Local Political ◽

10.1177/0304375412470776 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 38 (1) ◽

pp. 78-98 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

N. A. J. Taylor ◽

Joseph A. Camilleri ◽

Michael Hamel-Green

Keyword(s):

Civil Society ◽

Middle East ◽

Nuclear Weapons ◽

Holistic Approach ◽

Chemical Weapons ◽

Trust Building ◽

Mutual Respect ◽

Mass Destruction ◽

Critical Phase

Negotiations on the establishment of a Middle East zone free of biological, nuclear, and chemical weapons and their means of delivery are now at a critical phase after more than three decades of prenegotiations. This article examines the factors that have impeded negotiations in order to identify the key actors whose mutually reinforcing efforts are essential to its establishment. We argue that current efforts to negotiate a zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems (WMDFZ) in the Middle East can learn much from the successful negotiation of other nuclear weapons free zones (NWFZs). Nevertheless, the circumstances in the Middle East are unique and require a more holistic approach. Success here will depend largely on a multidimensional perspective that brings together the energies and insights of a range of state and nonstate actors, not least civil society in the Middle East, where confidence and trust building is too complex and demanding a task to be seen as the preserve of political and geostrategic calculation. Enabling the societies and polities of the region to identify areas of mistrust and misunderstanding across strategic, political, but also cultural and religious divides in order to open up possibilities for dialogue and mutual respect holds the key to creating a favorable negotiating environment.

Weapons of Mass Destruction and Modern Terrorism: Implications for Global Security

Asian Social Science ◽

10.5539/ass.v15n3p1 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 1

Author(s):

O. Ike Okoro ◽

Nduka Lucas Oluka

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

Al Qaeda ◽

Secondary Source ◽

Islamic State ◽

Operational Mode ◽

Mass Destruction ◽

Counter Measures ◽

Terrorist Groups ◽

State Actors

The hazard of biological, chemical and nuclear materials, regarded as Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), intercalating the arsenal of terrorists is the biggest crime and challenge against humanity. Every such crime and challenge ought to be named appropriately; and state actors experiencing such owe it to their citizens to act speedily and with certainty against terrorists. Even with the on-going war on terrorism, there has been a surge in terrorist activities in some parts of the world. Terrorists in our contemporary age have also embraced startling trends in their operational mode since the 11 September 2001 fanatic attacks in New York and Washington D. C. The devastating effect of these twin attacks has raised global concern about the potential use of WMD by Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State of Iran and Syria (ISIS), and their affiliate groups. One major issue of great concern in recent times, apart from the propensity of the terrorist organizations to acquire WMD, is the involvement of state actors that secretly acquire or claim to have acquired them for the purposes of electricity generation. Notably, too, is the trend in modern scientific and technological improvement which has increased the nature of, and access to, WMD. This research, therefore, attempts to access the implication and impact of WMD as terrorists put them to use. The study also examines the concept of terrorism and WMD. Also examined is the general implication of the use of WMD and the challenges this might pose to the international community, considering the current trends in their acquisition by some states and non-state actors. The investigation suggests appropriate counter-measures to thwart terrorists’ effort to acquire WMD. The study also adopted the qualitative approach of research to analyse the sophistication adopted by new terrorist groups particularly by the ISIS terrorist network; the al-Qaeda group and other splinter groups. Thus, historical research is most appropriate for this study, and secondary source of data was adopted as its methodology.