There is a widely held belief in the imminent probability of nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons of mass destruction being used by terrorists against civilian targets. This edited volume critically assesses the suggestion that one safeguard against this possibility would be to strengthen existing international prohibitions against state- level acquisition of such weapons.

A glimpse of the possible potential of terrorist use of weapons of mass destruction has been seen through the actions of the Tokyo Aum group, and through the use of chlorine by insurgents in Iraq....

Explores the relationship between the accelerating process of globalization and the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, which is seen as the pre-eminent threat to international security.

This book argues that Network Centric Warfare (NCW) influences how developed militaries operate in the same fashion that an operating system influences the development of computer software.

It examines three inter-related issues: the overwhelming military power of the United States; the growing influence of NCW on military thinking; and the centrality of coalition operations in modern military endeavours. Irrespective of terrorist threats and local insurgencies, the present international structure is remarkably stable - none of the major powers seeks to alter the system from its...

Examines the US nuclear weapons policy since the end of the Cold War. This book aims to develop insights into the factors affecting policy formulation, a nuanced appreciation of the role and perception of US nuclear weapons in America's defence establishme

This book provides a critical analysis of the changing discourse and practice of post-conflict security-promoting interventions since the Cold War, such as disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR), and security-sector reform (SSR)

Although the international aid and security sectors exhibit an expanding appetite for peace-support operations in the 21^st Century, the effectiveness of such interventions are largely untested. This book aims to fill this evidentiary gap and issues a challenge to 'conventional' approaches to security promotion as...

This book analyses the strategic dimensions of energy security, particularly where energy resources have become the object of military competition.

The volume explores the risks that may arise from conditions of increasing economic competition and resource scarcity, and the problems that may follow if major producers or consumers of energy lose confidence in the equity and efficiency of the market, and resort instead to the use of force to secure access to energy. It surveys the strategic outlook of both producer and consumer states, with emphasis on nations or regions...

This edited volume addresses the issue of threat inflation in American foreign policy and domestic politics. The Bush administration's aggressive campaign to build public support for an invasion of Iraq reheated fears about the president's ability to manipulate the public, and many charged the administration with 'threat inflation', duping the news media and misleading the public into supporting the war under false pretences.

Presenting the latest research, these essays seek to answer the question of why threat inflation occurs and when it will be successful. Simply defined, it is...

This book investigates what is driving Iran's nuclear weapons programme in a less-hostile regional environment, using a theory of protracted conflicts to explicate proliferation.

Iran's nuclear weapons program has alarmed the international community since the 1990s, but has come to the forefront of international security concerns since 2000. This book argues that Iran's hostility with the United States remains the major causal factor for its proliferation activities. With the US administration pursuing aggressive foreign policies towards Iran since 2000, the latter's...

Examining strategic decisions from a political-economy perspective, whiledrawing out theoretical implications of differing approaches, this book rethinks balance of power theory.

The book considers the implications of the nuclear energy revival for global governance in the areas of safety, security and non-proliferation.

Increased global warming, the energy demands of China, India and other emerging economic powerhouses and the problems facing traditional and alternative energy sources have lead many to suggest that there will soon be a nuclear energy 'renaissance'. This book examines comprehensively the drivers of and constraints on the revival, its nature and scope and the possibility that nuclear power will spread significantly beyond the...