The United States and Arms Control: The Challenge of Leadership

(Hardback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

The United States has committed itself to an unprecedented number and variety of arms control and nonproliferation obligations in the past decade. At least ten major new agreements have been signed since 1986, and some of them have now been in force for several years. After a brief review of Cold War arms control and the lessons to be learned from it, the book surveys the commitments the United States has made during the past decade across the full spectrum of arms control, including nuclear, conventional, chemical, and biological weapons. It describes the bureaucratic structure the United States has created to implement its own commitments and to verify that other countries are complying with theirs. The book then analyzes the costs and benefits of the new regimes, the persistent problems encountered in managing them, and the causes and appropriate responses to incidents of noncompliance. It concludes with an argument for continued U.S. leadership in international arms control.

Reviews

"[This work is] a masterful survey and assessment of how arms-control has evolved since the Iron Curtain was torn down. Arms-limitation and transparency agreements are now increasingly interpenetrating the international-security regime. As the book makes clear, however, maintaining the health of this complex system of restraints will depend upon a continued appreciation of its role within the U.S., the home of both its strongest supporters and fiercest critics. An essential text for courses on international security."-Frank von Hippel Professor of Public and International Affairs Princeton University
The author has presented a well-written and well-researched study. It is a solid piece of scholarly work and will be welcomed by professionals in the field and those who teach graduate courses in national and international security. It is a must acquisition for professional and university libraries.-Choice
"The author has presented a well-written and well-researched study. It is a solid piece of scholarly work and will be welcomed by professionals in the field and those who teach graduate courses in national and international security. It is a must acquisition for professional and university libraries."-Choice

Author Bio

ALLAN S. KRASS is currently on the staff of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency in the Bureau of Nonproliferation and Regional Arms Control. This is his third book on the subject of arms control and nonproliferation.