International Arms Control

INTRODUCTION
Of all government foreign policy calculations perhaps none are more significant than those which involve a nation’s arsenal and the arsenals of their competitors. How many weapons should we obtain and of which type? Should we produce them ourselves or depend on others? If we decide on self-sufficiency which technologies do we need? Should we sell our weapons to country X and not to country Y? What would be the payoffs or repercussions? Is this the best means of ensuring our security? Or can security be better attained through international institutions, legal instruments, and policing efforts? – These are just some the question that will be explored in this course.

ABOUT THIS SIMULATION
We begin by surveying historical trends in the proliferation of NBC weapons and their associated delivery systems. We then turn our attention to conventional weapons, and the true weapons of mass destruction—small arms and light weapons (SALW). In each case we will examine the strategic logic of possessing (or not possessing) the weapon in question, tactical logics which reduce the chance for their actual use, as well as a whole host of laws, treaties, and regimes designed to reduce stockpiles and regulate the trade / transfer of these dangerous instruments. Along the way we will draw upon individual cases to evaluate what has been done in past and what can be done in the future to curb proliferation and to insure that weapons do not fall into the hands of non-state actors.on.