This course surveys the issues surrounding the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and ballistic missiles and provides an introduction to the international nonproliferation regime. The course is divided into four parts. Part I provides an overview of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and the components of the nonproliferation regime designed to control their spread. Part II considers the nonproliferation regime in more detail, concentrating on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the conventions banning chemical and biological weapons, supplier regimes and export controls, and verification and compliance issues. Part III covers challenges to the nonproliferation regime, including states developing WMD outside or in defiance of the NPT, CWC and BWC, tensions within the regimes, and the special concern of terrorism. Finally, Part IV discusses potential responses to these challenges, including proposals to modify and strengthen the NPT, denuclearization, deterrence, missile defense, and counterproliferation.
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This class examines the following questions: What are nuclear weapons and what do they do? Why do some nations want them? What are the risks of nuclear terrorism? What is radioactivity? What role does nuclear power play? Can it help with global warming? Emphasis is on policy options in the light of recent and continuous changes in the world.
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This seminar explores the politics of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Topics covered include the motives for WMD proliferation and use, strategies for deterrence and defense, and prospects for a WMD-free world.
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This course examines the way in which states, individually and collectively, have responded to the challenges posed by nuclear weapons. The atomic bomb was developed during World War II, the most destructive war in history. In the aftermath of Hiroshima there were many who believed that, unless the bomb was abolished or international states system reformed in a fundamental way, catastrophic nuclear war was inevitable. But the bomb has not been abolished, and states still exist. How then have we avoided nuclear war? And will the approaches that we have taken to avoiding nuclear war in the past still work in the future? These questions have become especially topical in the last year, with the war in Iraq, the crisis on the Korean Peninsula, and the tension between India and Pakistan.
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Headlines in today’s newspapers are filled with references to weapons of mass destruction and missile proliferation. These technologies pose both political and military challenges to the United States as it pursues its national security agenda around the globe. Arms control treaties have attempted to deal with these technologies for many years, but have met with mixed success. This one-unit course is designed to give students a fundamental understanding of the technologies underlying arms control. It will cover the four classes of technologies that are the focus of most major arms control treaties: nuclear weapons, chemical and biological weapons, missile systems, and anti-ballistic missile systems. Each class will include an overview of the technologies themselves, as well as an analysis of the strategies used by arms control treaties to manage these technologies. Guest speakers will be used to provide a variety of perspectives on different issues. Students will be expected to participate in classroom discussions, work in teams, and carry out individual work.
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The course will assess the changing nature of the weapons proliferation problem, its implications for national security and international stability, and the policy responses in the areas of nonproliferation and counterproliferation. It will cover a broad set of military, technical, political, and economic issues. The course will also explore the implications of the acquisition of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons by non-state actors.
 

This seminar will examine the roots, institutions, evolution, and current status of the nuclear and other nonproliferation regimes that have been developed over the past decades. Among the issues that will be addressed are: what is the technological basis for nuclear weapons and how does it relate to the civil nuclear fuel cycle? What are the incentives and disincentives for states to seek to acquire nuclear weapons? How do other lethal weapons systems fit in? How has the international community sought to address the proliferation problem? What is the role and effectiveness of export controls, strategies of denial, international safeguards and verification arrangements? What of the demand side of the nonproliferation equation: what can the nuclear weapon states do to abate the risk of proliferation--enhance security assurances? development and pursuit of policies of arms control and disarmament? efforts to delegitimize weapons of mass destruction? How do regional nuclear weapon free zones or zones free of weapons of mass destruction fit into the larger picture? How does the continued presence of nuclear-capable hold-out states affect nonproliferation efforts and what can be done to mitigate the effects and bring non participating states into the regime?
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This seminar addresses various issues related to the spread of advanced weapons to diverse countries, considering a set of problems that will raise the most difficult security concerns for the United States and the rest of the world in the post-cold-war era. In the seminar, we will explore a wide range of weapons technologies--including nuclear, chemical, biological, and conventional armaments--and the political and legal mechanisms that constrain them. The seminar will address historical allegations concerning the dissemination and use of these weapons; the rise and fall of various strategic doctrines; the bureaucratic processes of government decision making; and the evaluation of relevant ethical considerations surrounding possession and use. The bulk of the seminar will focus on contemporary legal and political issues such as ongoing treaty negotiations, export controls, verification of compliance, enforcement of treaty commitments, and the dismantling of redundant weaponry.
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Beginner’s course on the physics of nuclear weapons, nuclear weapon effects, delivery systems, and defenses against nuclear attack; non-technical, but about technology. Designed to assist students in making informed judgments about nuclear armaments and arms control; includes presentation of current issues.
 

This course surveys the political, legal, and technological history of 20th-century arms control agreements with emphasis on the treaties which ended the Cold War. It examines current issues of law, politics, military strategy, and technology in regard to weapons of mass destruction and related topics in international security. The course considers the relationship of arms control to other instruments of national security policy such as military capabilities, military strategies, and military alliances.
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 This undergraduate course provides a brief background description of weapons of mass destruction (i.e., nuclear, biological, and chemical) and the means used to deliver unconventional munitions. Also, we will focuses on traditional arms control as it evolved during the Cold War years and the transitional period in the 1990s.  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 will be introduced. 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. Finally, we will explore new arms control, disarmament, and nonproliferation strategies that have not yet been fully implemented or remain at the conceptual stage.
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This course provides an introduction to the issue of weapons development, proliferation, and nonproliferation around the world. Part I will examine the basic technologies and motivations, and impact of the development of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and ballistic missiles on international security. Part II will discuss the various international strategies to counter weapons proliferation -- treaties, multilateral conventions and informal arrangements. Part III will examine the challenges of weapons proliferation -- such as domestic safety, regional stability and security, and transnational terrorism. This will be done through national and regional case studies -- where we will discuss actual and potential U.S. and international strategies/responses to each case.
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This course addresses the political, strategic and humanitarian factors associated with arms control and disarmament. It also considers many of the political concepts associated with arms control and disarmament, such as the ‘security dilemma’, deterrence, confidence-building measures, common and cooperative security. The underlying theme of this course is that arms control and disarmament efforts are valuable processes in securing an orderly and just world.
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The purposes of the course are threefold. First and foremost, we will examine the technology, politics, law, and strategies associated with nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, as well as cruise and ballistic missiles. Second, as we progress through the course, we will consider the larger political, economic, ideological, and military setting within which arms-control and disarmament efforts take place. How useful is arms control and disarmament as a tool for international peace and stability? What factors allow these efforts to succeed? What constraints inhibit their effectiveness or cause them to fail altogether? How can they be improved? And third, you will have the opportunity to think and write about the topics we will cover, through a pair of analytical papers and an essay final. We will hone the writing and analytical skills you will depend on as you move into careers in international affairs.    
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The consequences of the proliferation of small arms and nuclear, biological and chemical weapons are discussed. The role of the profit motive of arms merchants, the curiosity of scientists, and politicians' desire to conjure up
external threats to gain popular support or to suppress internal dissent, and the role of mutual fear in driving arms races are explored. Statistics suggest a strong link between arms races and war. The role of non-offensive and nonmilitary
defense in preventing war is addressed, as well as the difference between first strike and second strike weapons and their relation to strategic stability or instability. International efforts in the area of arms control and disarmament, and provisions for the verification of agreements, are surveyed, and ways to strengthen these efforts are proposed. Methods to prevent conventional and nuclear war are reviewed.
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The need for education and training in arms control and non-proliferation, within the wider framework of peace and security studies, is no less acute in the post-Cold War era than during the decades of the superpower standoff. The profusion of regional and ethno-national conflicts around the world has led to a number of violent confrontations. At the same time, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, ballistic missiles, very large conventional armies, and millions of small arms has further heightened the dangers that military confrontation in the context of these ethno-national struggles could lead to brutal conflagrations of horrendous proportions. In this context, it is vitally important that civil and military decision makers, educators, analysts, journalists, intellectuals, and ordinary citizens possess the information necessary to understand the impact of these developments. While the frameworks and levels of analysis can vary according to region and participants, there are a number of common core elements that characterize such programs. These elements can be divided into two broad pillars, focusing respectively on the nature of the threats, and the contributions, as well as limitations, of various arms control frameworks. Within this context, the links between arms limitation efforts and the broader framework of confidence building, mutual acceptance, peace building and the commitment to resolve conflicts by peaceful means are essential.
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The spread of nuclear weapons to states other than the five declared nuclear weapon powers has been a matter of international concern for several decades. The end of the Cold War has increased the possibility of former allies, who were under the nuclear umbrellas of superpowers, pursuing independent nuclear policies. This course deals with the dynamics of nuclear proliferation in its theoretical and policy dimensions. We will discuss the incentives and disincentives for nuclear acquisition, the nuclear nonproliferation regime, and case studies of countries that have acquired or are in the process of acquiring nuclear weapons as well as those that have foresworn nuclear weapons. Finally, we will look at various strategies for controlling the nuclear spread, as well as the implications of nuclear proliferation for global security, especially in the post-cold war era.
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This course introduces students to the main problems of arms control and WMD proliferation in international relations. During the first part of the course, students will learn about the terminology and theories of nonproliferation studies. We will try to answer the following questions: Which actors dominate international politics? What fundamental concepts inform international security? How is foreign policy made? What are the economic, political and military causes of conflict? The second part of the course deals with a variety of themes including verification and compliance of international instruments, military defense such as the missile defense system and confidence building measures in arms control.
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Department of Peace Studies, University of Bradford

This course aims to provide a foundation for thinking about the role of arms control in international security in the post-Cold War world. It begins by examining the problems created for international security by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction from the 194 Os. It will then place emphasis on international arms control regimes, including the NPT, CWC and BTWC, in responding to these challenges, and will examine, in particular, recent post—Cold War developments and future trends involving new technologies such as directed energy weapons systems. It will also examine issues of paramilitary violence, particularly in relation to the use of conventional munitions for economic targeting as a trend in asymmetric warfare.
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Graduate Schools of Language and Educational Linguistics (GSLEL), Translation and Interpretation (GSTI), International Policy Studies (GSIPS), and the Center for Non-Proliferation Studies (CNS), Monterey Institute of International Studies

This course is a content-based course, taught in three languages (Chinese, Japanese and Russian), with plenary sessions planned jointly by staff and faculty from the Graduate School of Language and Educational Linguistics, The Center for Nonproliferation Studies, and the Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation. Students will form teams consisting of one subject matter expert and one language professor to prepare expertise on several topics within the focal subject matter. The three major topics of the course in this case are: nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament, terrorism with weapons of mass destruction, and regional nonproliferation issues.
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Fordham University School of Law

This seminar will address issues as to the lawfulness under international law of the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons. The course will focus upon such matters as the following: applicable rules of international law, as articulated by the United States; the United States' position as to the application of such rules to nuclear weapons; the 1996 advisory decision of the International Court of Justice on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons; relevant judicial decisions subsequent to the ICJ decision; and generally accepted principles of international law applicable to the analysis. The course will also focus upon the facts that are central to the legal analysis, including the characteristics and effects of nuclear weapons, U.S. policy as to the circumstances in which it might use nuclear weapons, the theory and implications of nuclear deterrence, and identifiable risk factors as to the potential effects of the use of nuclear weapons. This will be a paper course and students will be required to present their papers in class. The primary text will be Charles J. Moxley, Jr., Nuclear Weapons and International Law in the Post Cold War World (Austin & Winfield, University Press of America, 2000).
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Nuclear Studies Institute, American University

Nuclear Decisions from Hiroshima Through Arms Control and Disarmament analyzes the development of American nuclear policy since the Manhattan Project, along with efforts on the part of international organizations and citizen activists to control these weapons. Topics include the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear testing, the Cuban Missile Crisis, efforts at arms control and disarmament, the dangers of nuclear proliferation, and nuclear terrorism. Guest experts will offer specialized presentations. Dr. Musil has been a leader in national peace organizations, including the Professionals' Coalition for Nuclear Arms Control, and SANE, since 1971.

Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies

The international nuclear nonproliferation regime faces a variety of new and continuing challenges, which threaten both its near- and longer-term viability.  The current balance of proliferation pressures and constraints may be upset by certain trigger events, the occurrence of which may set in motion chain reactions of regional and global proliferation developments.  This seminar will analyze prior nuclear proliferation decisions and trigger events in order to identify proliferation trends for the next ten-year period.  Students will conduct original research on possible regional and global nuclear proliferation chains and their precipitants.  They also will assess the likely consequences of these developments and propose policy options for preventing their occurrence.

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