Controlling the Arms Trade

About this book

This book examines the development of the international arms trade after the Cold War and looks at efforts - national and international - to regulate or restrain the market. The book describes the size and dynamics of the international market for weapons and related technology. Who are the main suppliers and purchasers of conventional arms? What is meant by 'dual use' technology? What effect - if any - has the so-called 'peace dividend' had upon the manufacture and export of lethal weaponry? Much has been said, since the end of the Cold War, of the need to regulate the market. But what rationale and mechanisms are currently available to supervise and restrain the traffic in arms and technology internationally? And how are such initiatives viewed by the 'Rest'; states and cultures which do not necessarily share Western values and priorities? Is weapon-related innovation now uncontrollable? In Britain, what are likely to be the implications of the Scott Report into arms and technology exports to Iraq? Controlling the Arms Trade is an informed and authoritative pointer to future market trends and a clear and concise guide to the problem of arms export controls.