A Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone in the Middle East: Reflections on a Project of Academic Applied International Relations

2008 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 391-396
Author(s):  
Dan Plesch ◽  
Poul-Erik Christiansen
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Weapons Of Mass Destruction ◽  
Mass Destruction ◽  
Free Zone

Nuclear verification in a Middle East WMD-Free Zone: Lessons from Past Verification Cases and Other Precedents

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Carlson
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
National Security ◽  
Nuclear Weapons ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Arms Race ◽  
Weapons Of Mass Destruction ◽  
Critical Importance ◽  
Mass Destruction ◽  
Free Zone ◽  
Nuclear Arms Race

Verification will be of critical importance to achieving and maintaining a Middle East zone free of weapons of mass destruction (ME WMD). Effective verification arrangements would serve a vital national security objective for each state in the region by reducing tensions, removing the motivation to proliferate, and mitigating the risk of a virtual nuclear arms race (or war). In view of the high levels of tension and mistrust within the zone, ensuring effective verification will be especially demanding. The paper examines specific elements of the future nuclear verification of the zone, including: Which states should be included? What prohibitions and obligations should apply in the zone and how would they be verified? How could elimination of nuclear weapons in the zone be achieved? On what basis would the zone treaty enter into force? The paper also examines a number of existing treaties and arrangements as well as the lessons learned from past verification cases which regional states can draw on in developing verification for a Middle East nuclear-weapon-free zone.

Recent Literature on Sanctions - Iraq Under Siege: The Deadly Impact of Sanctions and War, Anthony Arnove, ed. (Cambridge, Mass.: South End Press, 2000), 216 pp., $40 cloth, $16 paper. - “The Effect of Iraqi Sanctions: Statistical Pitfalls and Responsibility,” Amatzia Baram, Middle East Journal 54 (Spring2000), pp. 194–223. - United Nations Sanctions Management: A Case Study of the Iraq Sanctions Committee, 1990–1994, Paul Conlon (Ardsley, N.Y.: Transnational Publishers, 2000), 350 pp., $115 cloth. - Iraq and the War of Sanctions: Conventional Threats and Weapons of Mass Destruction, Anthony H. Cordesman (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1999), 712 pp., $75 cloth. - The Sanctions Decade: Assessing UN Strategies in the 1990s, David Cortright and George A. Lopez, eds. (Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2000), 274 pp., $17.95 paper. - The Sanctions Paradox: Economic Statecraft and International Relations, Daniel W. Drezner (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999), 362 pp., $59.95 cloth, $24.95 paper. - Sanctioning Saddam: The Politics of Intervention in Iraq, Sarah Graham-Brown (London: I. B. Tauris, 1999), 400 pp., $35 cloth. - Economic Sanctions and American Diplomacy, Richard N. Haass, ed. (New York: Council on Foreign Relations Books, 1998), 220 pp., $17.95 paper. - Honey and Vinegar: Incentives, Sanctions, and Foreign Policy, Richard N. Haass and Meghan L. O'Sullivan, eds. (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2000), 168 pp., $39.95 cloth, $16.95 paper.

2001 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-192
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Foreign Relations ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
Weapons Of Mass Destruction ◽  
Brookings Institution ◽  
Mass Destruction ◽  
Cambridge University ◽  
Economic Statecraft

scholarly journals Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Middle East

1991 ◽  
Vol 70 (5) ◽  
pp. 185
Author(s):  
Gregory F. Treverton ◽  
Anthony H. Cordesman ◽  
Kathleen C. Bailey
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Weapons Of Mass Destruction ◽  
Mass Destruction

scholarly journals The influence of weapons of mass destruction on international security in the second decade of the 21st century

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 109-141
Author(s):  
Włodzimierz Wątor
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
International Security ◽  
Weapons Of Mass Destruction ◽  
Foreseeable Future ◽  
International Organisations ◽  
Mass Destruction ◽  
Special Significance ◽  
Force Factor ◽  
Precise Estimation

The article outlines reasons for the significant increase of the hazard posed by weapons of mass destruction in the current decade. Despite the international community’s efforts made throughout the years, it has not been possible to eliminate them, significantly lower their arsenal or prevent their building or transfer. What has increased is the importance of weapons of mass destruction, especially nuclear ones, as a force factor in international relations. This tendency will probably continue in the foreseeable future. Therefore, the article focuses on explaining the mechanisms of this process and its connections with numerous events and facts influencing international security. Special significance is ascribed to a precise estimation of the risk posed by weapons of mass destruction and determination of its hierarchy. Moreover, the article presents the forms and methods of the activities undertaken by countries and international organisations regarding the prevention of proliferation (via disarmament treaties and informal forums) and assesses their effectiveness.

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