Download or read book Dangerous Weapons Desperate States written by Gary K. Bertsch and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-01-11 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the collapse of the USSR, fifteen fledgling sates inherited a massive Soviet arsenal, unstable political systems, and desperate economies. A "sell everything" mentality threatens to result in the largest arms bazaar in human history, and this potential "fire sale" includes weapons of mass destruction. This book addresses the challenges the new independent states (NIS) of the former Soviet Union (FSU) face in controlling and monitoring their sensitive, military-related exports.Dangerous Weapons, Desperate States explores the various theoretical approaches that help explain the development of nonproliferation export control systems in the NIS. The contributors, coming from both the FSU states and the US, provide a broad range of perspectives on the problems posed by the threat of proliferation.

Download or read book Handbook of Chemical and Biological Warfare Agents written by D. Hank Ellison and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2010-12-12 with total page 536 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With terrorist groups expanding their weapons of destruction beyond bombs and bullets, chemical and biological warfare agents aren't merely limited to the battlefield anymore. In some cases, they are now being used on a new front: major metropolitan cities. And in the Handbook of Chemical and Biological Warfare Agents, emergency response personnel-from HazMat and Police SWAT teams to Explosive Ordinance Disposal units-will find a myriad of information on how to deal with such incidents involving dangerous chemical and biological agents. The 504-page book is formatted into a series of indices developed to facilitate rapid access to key information on chemical, biological and toxin agents, with each index cross-referenced to all others. The wealth of data not only include the physical appearance, odor, signs and symptoms of dangerous materials such as nerve agents and vesicants, but the detection and removal of such agents and the treatment of victims. Author D. Hank Ellison, a former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency emergency responder and officer in the Chemical Corps who provides chemical and biological counterterrorism training to HazMat, Police SWAT and Explosive Ordinance Disposal teams, also includes a litany of guidelines from such sources as the US Army, DOT and other agencies.

Download or read book The Soviet Biological Weapons Program written by Milton Leitenberg and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2012-07-25 with total page 994 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Russian officials claim today that the USSR never possessed an offensive biological weapons program. In fact, the Soviet government spent billions of rubles and hard currency to fund a hugely expensive weapons program that added nothing to the country’s security. This history is the first attempt to understand the broad scope of the USSR’s offensive biological weapons research—its inception in the 1920s, its growth between 1970 and 1990, and its possible remnants in present-day Russia. We learn that the U.S. and U.K. governments never obtained clear evidence of the program’s closure from 1990 to the present day, raising the critical question whether the means for waging biological warfare could be resurrected in Russia in the future. Based on interviews with important Soviet scientists and managers, papers from the Soviet Central Committee, and U.S. and U.K. declassified documents, this book peels back layers of lies, to reveal how and why Soviet leaders decided to develop biological weapons, the scientific resources they dedicated to this task, and the multitude of research institutes that applied themselves to its fulfillment. We learn that Biopreparat, an ostensibly civilian organization, was established to manage a top secret program, code-named Ferment, whose objective was to apply genetic engineering to develop strains of pathogenic agents that had never existed in nature. Leitenberg and Zilinskas consider the performance of the U.S. intelligence community in discovering and assessing these activities, and they examine in detail the crucial years 1985 to 1992, when Mikhail Gorbachev’s attempts to put an end to the program were thwarted as they were under Yeltsin.

Download or read book Smallpox written by David Koplow and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2003-01-21 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Though smallpox was eradicated from the planet two decades ago, recent terrorist acts have raised the horrific possibility that rogue states, laboratories, or terrorist groups are in possession of secret stockpiles of the virus that causes the disease, and may be preparing to unleash it on target populations. Because it is a far deadlier killer than other biological warfare agents such as anthrax, and because the universal vaccination against smallpox was halted decades ago, a smallpox attack today would be nothing short of catastrophic. This clear, authoritative study looks at the long and fascinating history of the virus, with an informative overview of the political, biological, environmental, medical, and legal issues surrounding the question of whether or not the virus should be exterminated. The only two known samples of the virus are currently stored in Atlanta and Russia. The World Health Organization has repeatedly scheduled their destruction—an action that would rid the planet of all publicly acknowledged smallpox strains forever. Opponents of this plan argue that by destroying these last samples we are denying the possibility that this unique virus could be turned to beneficial purposes in basic scientific research. Others see the stockpile as part of a deterrent against future germ attacks. Proponents of prompt eradication argue that scientists have already learned all they can from this particular virus, and that by destroying the stockpile we are preventing it from ever falling into the wrong hands. As a thirty-year veteran of arms control issues, David Koplow is uniquely suited to provide readers with an informed and well-considered understanding of the complexities involved in the handling of this deadly virus.

Download or read book Preventing Biological Warfare written by Malcolm Dando and published by Springer. This book was released on 2002-05-10 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention entirely prohibits biological warfare, but it has no effective verification mechanism to ensure that the 140-plus States Parties are living up to their obligations. From 1995-2001 the States Parties attempted to negotiate a Protocol to the Convention to remedy this deficiency. On 25 July 2001 the United States entirely rejected the final text which would probably have been acceptable to most other states. The book investigates how this disaster came about, and the potential consequences of the failure of American leadership.

Download or read book The Finnish Yearbook of International Law written by Martti Koskenniemi and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2023-12-21 with total page 527 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite its Finnish initiative and pedigrees, The Finnish Yearbook of International Law does not restrict itself to purely 'Finnish' topics. On the contrary, it reflects the many connections in law between the national and the international. The Finnish Yearbook of International Law annually publishes, in both English and French, articles of high quality dealing with all aspects of international law, including international law aspects of European law, with close attention to developments that affect Finland. Its offerings include: - longer articles of a theoretical nature, exploring new avenues and approaches; - shorter polemics; - commentaries on current international law developments; - book reviews; and - documentation of relevance to Finland's foreign relations not easily available elsewhere. The Finnish Yearbook offers a fertile ground for the expression of and reflection on the connections between Finnish law and international law as a whole and insight into the richness of this interaction.

Download or read book The Finnish Yearbook of International Law 1997 written by Martti Koskenniemi and published by Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. This book was released on 1998-12-01 with total page 532 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite its Finnish initiative and pedigrees, "The Finnish Yearbook of International Law" does not restrict itself to purely 'Finnish' topics. On the contrary, it reflects the many connections in law between the national and the international. "The Finnish Yearbook of International Law" annually publishes, in both English and French, articles of high quality dealing with all aspects of international law, including international law aspects of European law, with close attention to developments that affect Finland. Its offerings include: - longer articles of a theoretical nature, exploring new avenues and approaches; - shorter polemics; - commentaries on current international law developments; - book reviews; and - documentation of relevance to Finland's foreign relations not easily available elsewhere. "The Finnish Yearbook" offers a fertile ground for the expression of and reflection on the connections between Finnish law and international law as a whole and insight into the richness of this interaction.

Download or read book Biological Warfare written by D.B. Rao and published by Discovery Publishing House. This book was released on 2001 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The population of the world of today is faced by a challenge that could threaten even its survival in the near future because of biological weapons and warfare. Biological weapons are not difficult to produce, relatively easy to hide, and in the hands of unscrupulous desperate, terrorists, could cause incredible damage to large populations anywhere in the world. The use of biological weapons in war and/or otherwise as a means of mass destruction may lead to manmade epidemics that will introduce bioengineered agents into the human populations, animals and plants which will have a devastating effect on living organisms and world economy. Confronted with this menace, the Biological Weapons Convention has singled out biological weapons for categorical prohibition. To protect humans, animals and plants from microbial diseases, a revolutionary approach to develop effective vaccines against epidemic causing agents and certainly against biological weapon agents in needed.

Download or read book Information Resources in Toxicology Volume 1 Background Resources and Tools written by and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2020-05-16 with total page 1055 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new fifth edition of Information Resources in Toxicology offers a consolidated entry portal for the study, research, and practice of toxicology. Both volumes represents a unique, wide-ranging, curated, international, annotated bibliography, and directory of major resources in toxicology and allied fields such as environmental and occupational health, chemical safety, and risk assessment. The editors and authors are among the leaders of the profession sharing their cumulative wisdom in toxicology's subdisciplines. This edition keeps pace with the digital world in directing and linking readers to relevant websites and other online tools.Due to the increasing size of the hardcopy publication, the current edition has been divided into two volumes to make it easier to handle and consult. Volume 1: Background, Resources, and Tools, arranged in 5 parts, begins with chapters on the science of toxicology, its history, and informatics framework in Part 1. Part 2 continues with chapters organized by more specific subject such as cancer, clinical toxicology, genetic toxicology, etc. The categorization of chapters by resource format, for example, journals and newsletters, technical reports, organizations constitutes Part 3. Part 4 further considers toxicology's presence via the Internet, databases, and software tools. Among the miscellaneous topics in the concluding Part 5 are laws and regulations, professional education, grants and funding, and patents. Volume 2: The Global Arena offers contributed chapters focusing on the toxicology contributions of over 40 countries, followed by a glossary of toxicological terms and an appendix of popular quotations related to the field.The book, offered in both print and electronic formats, is carefully structured, indexed, and cross-referenced to enable users to easily find answers to their questions or serendipitously locate useful knowledge they were not originally aware they needed. Among the many timely topics receiving increased emphasis are disaster preparedness, nanotechnology, -omics, risk assessment, societal implications such as ethics and the precautionary principle, climate change, and children's environmental health. - Introductory chapters provide a backdrop to the science of toxicology, its history, the origin and status of toxicoinformatics, and starting points for identifying resources - Offers an extensive array of chapters organized by subject, each highlighting resources such as journals, databases,organizations, and review articles - Includes chapters with an emphasis on format such as government reports, general interest publications, blogs, and audiovisuals - Explores recent internet trends, web-based databases, and software tools in a section on the online environment - Concludes with a miscellany of special topics such as laws and regulations, chemical hazard communication resources, careers and professional education, K-12 resources, funding, poison control centers, and patents - Paired with Volume Two, which focuses on global resources, this set offers the most comprehensive compendium of print, digital, and organizational resources in the toxicological sciences with over 120 chapters contributions by experts and leaders in the field

Download or read book Conversion of Former BTW Facilities written by Erhard Geissler and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The development, production, stockpiling and use in war of biological and toxin weapons are prohibited by international law. Although not explicitly stated, the two treaties outlawing such activities, the Geneva Protocol of 1925 and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention of 1972, prohibit the continuation of activities previously performed in Biological and Toxin Weapons facilities not justified for prophylactic, protective or other peaceful purposes. Because conversion and other means of cessation of former BTW facilities are not explicitly addressed in the treaties mentioned above the problems involved in conversion ofBTW facilities have thus far only been discussed marginally in the open literature. In times of increased awareness of the danger of biological and toxin warfare (including the increased danger of terrorist use of biological and toxin weapons) it seemed necessary to us to invite experts from different parts of the world to discuss the pros and cons of conversion and the problems involved. It also became obvious to us that the conversion of former BTW facilities should be discussed with respect to the necessity of peaceful internatioual cooperation in areas related to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. An additional reason to discuss matters of peaceful cooperation is that cooperation is explictly requested by Article X of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention.

Download or read book Innovation Dual Use and Security written by Jonathan B. Tucker and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2012 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent advances in disciplines such as biotechnology, nanotechnology, and neuropharmacology entail a "dual-use dilemma" because they promise benefits for human health and welfare yet pose the risk of misuse for hostile purposes. The emerging field of synthetic genomics, for example, can produce custom DNA molecules for life-saving drugs but also makes possible the creation of deadly viral agents for biological warfare or terrorism. The challenge for policymakers is to prevent the misuse of these new technologies without forgoing their benefits . Innovation, Dual Use, and Security offers a systematic approach for managing the dual-use dilemma. The book presents a "decision framework" for assessing the security risks of emerging technologies and fashioning governance strategies to manage those risks. This framework is applied to fourteen contemporary case studies, including synthetic genomics, DNA shuffling and directed evolution, combinatorial chemistry, protein engineering, immunological modulation, and aerosol vaccines. The book also draws useful lessons from two historical cases: the development of the V-series nerve agents in Britain and the use and misuse of LSD by the U.S. Army and the CIA. Innovation, Dual Use, and Security offers a comprehensive, multifaceted introduction to the challenges of governing dual-use technologies in an era of rapid innovation. The book will be of interest to government officials and other practitioners as well as to students and scholars in security studies, science and technology studies, biology, and chemistry.

Download or read book The Arms Dynamic in World Politics written by Barry Buzan and published by Lynne Rienner Publishers. This book was released on 1998 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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

Download or read book Scientific and Technical Means of Distinguishing Between Natural and Other Outbreaks of Disease written by Malcolm R. Dando and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 171 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is increasing concern over the possible use of biological weapons. If they are used, an attack will manifest as a disease outbreak among humans, animals or plants. It is thus important to be able to distinguish between natural disease outbreaks and the result of such an attack. The bok discusses the scientific and technical means available to investigate this question and then goes on to consider the agents of concern. The book concludes with a look forward to future developments.

Download or read book Deadly Cultures written by Mark Wheelis and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-06-30 with total page 494 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The threat of biological weapons has never attracted as much public attention as in the past five years. Yet there has been little historical analysis of such weapons over the past half-century. Deadly Cultures sets out to fill this gap by analyzing the historical developments since 1945 and addressing three central issues: why states have continued or begun programs for acquiring biological weapons, why states have terminated biological weapons programs, and how states have demonstrated that they have truly terminated their biological weapons programs.

Download or read book Treaty Compliance Some Concerns and Remedies written by The Markland Group and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2024-01-15 with total page 165 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Markland Group is a Canadian non-governmental organization founded in 1987 by Douglas Scott. It is composed of lawyers, academics and other professionals with a special interest in the compliance aspects of disarmament treaties. The Canadian Council on International Law was founded in 1972 to represent Canadian international law practitioners and academics and to facilitate and promote the study of international legal problems by scholars and professionals. These two organizations joined forces in March 1995 to conduct a workshop on compliance, a topic which they felt had received insufficient attention from the international legal community. Thirty-eight experts from Canada, the United States and Great Britain were assembled for a series of meetings at the University of Toronto under the chairmanship of Walter Dorn and Christine Elwell. Five of the papers presented at the workshop have since been edited, expanded and updated for publication in this volume. The papers analyse compliance measures under various treaties, with particular attention being given to: The Biological Weapons Convention; the Chemical Weapons Convention; the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (Safeguards); Trade and Environment Compliance Measures; and International Humanitarian Law Compliance and Enforcement Mechanisms and their potential impact on Arms Control and Disarmament Treaties. The Markland Group and the CCIL believe that the study of treaty compliance methodology is still in its infancy. The development of effective, reliable and acceptable compliance systems is imperative, particularly for treaties dealing with disarmament. It is hoped that this volume will provide an impetus for enhanced study of this crucial issue.

Download or read book Unfinished Business written by Guy Olivier Faure and published by University of Georgia Press. This book was released on 2012 with total page 466 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most studies of international negotiations take successful talks as their subject. With a few notable exceptions, analysts have paid little attention to negotiations ending in failure. The essays in Unfinished Business show that as much, if not more, can be learned from failed negotiations as from successful negotiations with mediocre outcomes. Failure in this study pertains to a set of negotiating sessions that were convened for the purpose of achieving an agreement but instead broke up in continued disagreement. Seven case studies compose the first part of this volume: the United Nations negotiations on Iraq, the Middle East Peace Summit at Camp David in 2000, Iran-European Union negotiations, the Cyprus conflict, the Biological Weapons Convention, the London Conference of 1830–33 on the status of Belgium, and two hostage negotiations (Waco and the Munich Olympics). These case studies provide examples of different types of failed negotiations: bilateral, multilateral, and mediated (or trilateral). The second part of the book analyzes empirical findings from the case studies as causes of failure falling in four categories: actors, structure, strategy, and process. This is an analytical framework recommended by the Processes of International Negotiation, arguably the leading society dedicated to research in this area. The last section of Unfinished Business contains two summarizing chapters that provide broader conclusions—lessons for theory and lessons for practice.

Download or read book Conversion of Military R D written by Joseph Rotblat and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-07-27 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book describes the scale, benefits and costs of military research and development. It discusses the process of converting military R&D to civilian applications, and examines specific opportunities for, and obstacles to, conversion in the USA, Russia, France, Germany, and the UK. Among a number of case studies, senior scientists from US and Russian nuclear weapons laboratories debate the futures for these massive complexes. Looking to the future, the dual military/civilian nature of technology is discussed.