Publication

WMD Compliance and Enforcement in a Changing Global Context

The regimes for the control of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) are essential ingredients of the global order. Yet this order is currently in transition: the bipolarity of the Cold War has given way to a more complex, multipolar world order characterized by conflicts of interest and great power competition rather than cooperative security. This competition brings with it rising strategic uncertainties which endanger stability and have far reaching implications for WMD-related agreements. 

To better understand the implications of this changing global context for WMD arms control and disarmament measures this report looks at the past, present and future prospects for WMD-related treaties. The report begins by outlining four broad yet interlinked approaches to arms control and disarmament before considering how these have been applied to chemical, biological and nuclear weapons in the past and how these measures could be applied in the future.

C. Wunderlich, H. Müller and U. Jakob, WMD Compliance and Enforcement in a Changing Global Context, UNIDIR, Geneva, 2021, https://doi.org/10.37559/WMD/21/WMDCE02