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Beyond arms control: challenges and choices for nuclear disarmament

BACcover

Beyond arms control is a collaborative work of non-governmental researchers and activists who critically examine the mainstream discourse of nuclear weapons.


soft cover • 296 pages • March 2010
PDF available online for free
Hard copies available for $10 + s/h

Beyond arms control: challenges and choices for nuclear disarmament is a collaborative work of non-governmental researchers and activists who critically examine the mainstream discourse of nuclear weapons. The book explores some of the most important challenges that governments and civil society will face at the 2010 NPT Review Conference and beyond, highlighting the prospects and pitfalls for nuclear disarmament in the current world order. Throughout, the authors demonstrate that nuclear disarmament must be pursued in the context of a broader movement for social and economic justice and equality.

Abolishing nuclear weapons without affecting change in the systems that sustain, promote, and in fact require the existence of nuclear weapons to survive is impossible. The military utility of nuclear weapons may be diminishing in the current world order, but nuclear weapons and nuclear power are still useful to the economic and political elite of many countries and will thus be pursued by others seeking the same elite status. The first step on this road is distinguishing the rhetoric from the reality and creating a new discourse for nuclear disarmament that promotes true human security.

Edited by Ray Acheson
Published by Reaching Critical Will, a project of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom

CONTENTS

Contributing authors

Copyright

Acknowledgments

Acronyms

Executive Summary

Introduction: Ray Acheson

PART I: CHALLENGES

1. Rhetoric vs. reality: the political economy of nuclear weapons and their elimination: Darwin BondGraham, Jacqueline Cabasso, Nicholas Robinson, Will Parrish, and Ray Acheson

2. NATO nuclear sharing: an anachronistic obstacle to nuclear disarmament and regional security: Martin Butcher and Nicola Butler

3. US-UK nuclear sharing: deterring disarmament: John Ainslie

4. Nuclear energy: shackling progress toward a nuclear weapon free world

5. The US-India nuclear deal: violating norms, terminating futures: Andrew Lichterman and M.V. Ramana

6. Nuclear futures for the Middle East: impact on the goal of a weapons of mass destruction: Merav Datan

7. Iran's challenge to the nuclear order: Michael Veiluva

8. Missiles, missile defence, and space weapons: Jürgen Scheffran, Ray Acheson, and Andrew Lichterman

PART II: CHOICES

9. Dismantling discourses: nuclear weapons and human security: Jacqueline Cabasso and Ray Acheson

10. The relevance of gender for eliminating weapons of mass destruction: Carol Cohn with Felicity Hill and Sara Ruddick

11. Reaching nuclear disarmament: John Burroughs

12. A nuclear weapons convention: framework for a nuclear weapon free world: John Loretz, Jürgen Scheffran, Alyn Ware, and Tim Wright

13. Toward a fissile material (cut-off) treaty: Zia Mian

14. Learn, adapt, succeed: potential lessons from the Ottawa and Oslo processes for other disarmament and arms control challenges: John Borrie, Maya Brehm, Silvia Cattaneo, and David Atwood

Endnotes

Selected Bibliography and Suggested Reading 

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