An essential guide offers a comprehensive collection of edited and annotated arms-control documents, dating from the late-19th century to the present day.

Sometimes successful and sometimes not, arms-control agreements are strenuously negotiated by the parties involved, yet they quickly become obsolete as technology advances and new weapons come on the scene. Thus, such agreements are best understood strategically, not as ends in themselves, but rather as one essential avenue of securing national and global security-an important means of allowing countries around the world to work out their differences at the negotiating table instead of on the battlefield.

Arms Control and Global Security: A Document Guide offers an unprecedented and comprehensive collection of arms-control documents dating from the late-19th century to the present. The book includes documents addressing the control of weapons of mass destruction, the banning of biological and chemical weapons, the weaponization of space, regional arms control, and bilateral agreements, as well as the limitations of conventional weaponry. The documents are edited and annotated for nonspecialists, and charts, tables, and sidebars provide additional information throughout.


  • 10 illustrations
  • Charts, Tables
  • Sidebars

Set against a backdrop of terrorism, rogue states, non-conventional warfare, and deteriorating diplomacy, this encyclopedia offers a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, up-to-date reference on the recent history and contemporary practice of arms control and nonproliferation.

Arms Control: History, Theory, and Policy features in-depth, expert analysis and information on the full spectrum of issues relating to this critical topic. The first major reference on arms control in over a decade, the two-volume set covers historical context, contemporary challenges, and emerging approaches to diplomacy and human rights. Noted experts provide a full spectrum of perspectives on arms control, offering insightful analysis of arms-control agreements and the people and institutions behind them.

Volume 1 provides an accessible historical overview of the subject and a more detailed conceptual analysis of the foundations of arms control. Volume 2 covers the contemporary and practical issues of arms control, focusing on global issues that arms control advocates have been forced to address with varying degrees of success: a burgeoning international trade in conventional weapons; a closely related flood of small arms and light weapons used to fuel intrastate conflicts and even genocide; and the spread of nuclear weapons to potentially unstable regions of the world.


  • 30 illustrations and photos
  • Sidebars including brief biographical profiles and quotations
  • Charts and graphs
  • Primary documents
  • Timelines
  • Glossary and list of acronyms