Arms Control without Negotiation: From the Cold War to the New World Order

Beginning with Mikhail Gorbachev's December 1988 announcement that Moscow intended to unilaterally reduce its conventional armed forces, the spotlight on arms control has turned away from negotiated treaties toward unilateral reductions, and we have witnessed a number of reciprocal reductions not subject to negotiation. While these initiatives appear novel, this book demonstrates that they are only the tip of a unilateral arms control iceberg. The authors argue that arms control without negotiation - broadly defined to include unilateral reductions to induce reciprocal, as well as unilateral military research, development, procurement, reconfiguration and non-deployment - is as important as treaties, if not more so. The authors discuss the utility of unilateral measures in inducing reciprocation, review the links between defence planning and unilateral arms control, address the domestic politics of arms control issues, and consider implications for the future.