Welcome
to INTL 4460 Introduction to Arms Control and Disarmament Course!

Traditional arms control and disarmament agreements, coupled with the arrangements through which they were verified and enforced, represented a cooperative approach to international security that reduced the necessity for competitive armament and the danger of war. With the end of the Cold War, the focus shifted from reducing U.S. and Soviet stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) to preventing additional nations and subnational groups from acquiring WMD or the wherewithal to develop and manufacture them. Events of the past decade sharpened this new focus: The first Gulf War unveiled Iraq's extensive WMD programs, North Korea withdrew from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and announced that it was producing weapons-grade materials, India and Pakistan tested their own nuclear weapons, and terrorist organizations emerged that were capable of acquiring and using weapons of mass destruction. The breakup of the Soviet Union has made sensitive technologies, materials and weapons stockpiles dangerously accessible to rogue states and terrorists. This course examines this shift of emphasis and looks into the new challenge of curbing the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

The course proceeds in five parts. Part I provides a brief background description of weapons of mass destruction (i.e., nuclear, biological, and chemical) and the means used to deliver unconventional munitions. We will be interested in learning more about the history and capabilities of WMD, as well as the prospects for their future improvement. Part II focuses on traditional arms control as it evolved during the Cold War years and the transitional period in the 1990s. We will examine a series of bilateral treaties (ABM, SALT, START, and INF) and multilateral conventions (NPT, BWC, and CWC). Part III will introduce you to the concept of nonproliferation as it was conceived and implemented in the second half of the last century and continuously updated in the post-Cold War period. We will discuss whether the existing instruments and institutions can effectively deal with the new challenges and, if not, whether they need to be readjusted, or even replaced. This part will focus, among other things, on the nonproliferation export control regimes, namely the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Missile Technology Control Regime, the Wassenaar Arrangement, and the Australia Group.

Part IV explores new arms control, disarmament, and nonproliferation strategies that have not yet been fully implemented or remain at the conceptual stage. We will discuss several pending treaties and arrangements, such as the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and regional nuclear-free zones. Other new tools to be considered are the use of military force to prevent the development and/or use of weapons of mass destruction, Proliferation Security Initiative, the deployment of a U.S. national missile defense, and others. Finally, we will address the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program and the G-8 Global Partnership as they are applied to the former Soviet republics and beyond, as well as the homeland security concept that has emerged in post-September 11 America. Towards the end of this part, students will be requested to develop a brief paper comparing the arms control and nonproliferation position of the Bush administration with the alternative suggested by presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry. Part V explores the arms control and nonproliferation policies of several countries that are key players in this field, including the United States, Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Iraq, and Iran.

The schedule assigns readings from these books. I expect you to complete the readings before each class. Please check the course website regularly, as I may post additional required or recommended reading materials from time to time. The course includes viewing relevant documentaries during your class time. You should consult the appropriate sections of a daily newspaper (The New York Times and/or The Washington Post; the full content of both is available online) and at least one of the weekly magazines (Time, Newsweek, or U.S. News & World Report) for news of relevant ongoing developments. The course website will provide further information about useful links such as the Nuclear Threat Initiative, the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, and the Arms Control Association.