The Dual-Use-Problem and Weapons of Mass Destruction: A Comparative Analysis of Ways and Instruments to Control their Spread and Possession or Ban their Use

Götz Neuneck
Institut für Friedensforschung und Sicherheitspolitik an der Universität Hamburg

The Dual-Use-Problem and Weapons of Mass Destruction: A Comparative Analysis of Ways and Instruments to Control their Spread and Possession or Ban their Use

Weapons of Mass destruction (WMD), mainly nuclear, biological and chemical weapons (NBC), which can kill a significant number of people in a very short time, are one category in the UN language but they are treated differently by international law, arms control and arms export control. Since the end of WWII several principles, instruments and experiences of the control of WMDs have been elaborated by the international community with different ramifications. To understand future ways to eliminate WMD, it is useful to compare the different regimes and learn about the efficiency of their control. While BC-Weapons are banned by binding treaties, nuclear weapons still have a special status although they have been used only in 1945. The presentation will outline the different regimes and instruments which try to balance the Dual-Use dilemma of WMDs which starts with research, unfolds over the production, possession, transfer and their use and ends with the problem of the their total elimination. The talk will also articulate some actual problems and will draw some lessons from the past for future disarmament.