The New Biological Weapons: Threat, Proliferation, and Control

Description

Current revolutions in biotechnology and neuroscience are changing military technologies, necessitating dramatic reevaluations in arms regulatory regimes. This book assesses how these new technologies can be used in weapons systems—by governments and terrorists alike—and whether this frightening development can be brought under effective international control. Dando begins by surveying the existing (and arguably inadequate) control mechanisms for chemical and biological weapons. He then discusses how earlier generations of toxin and bioregulatory weapons have been developed by such states as Iraq, the former Soviet Union, and the U.S. and explains, in nontechnical terms, the scientific advances that have implications for new weapons technology. Considering how international law might be applied to constrain undesirable military developments without restricting technological developments for peaceful purposes, Dando concludes with a proposal for an integrated control regime that would link international agreements, national legislation, and trade regulations.