SOAS Research Online

Abstract

In practice there is still a “piecemeal approach towards proliferation” and argued that a genuinely comprehensive and global approach to non-proliferation would involve the integration of policy “on nuclear and other WMD non- proliferation, arms control, and disarmament with strategy on conventional weapons to implement a holistic approach within a new Strategic Concept for the Regulation of Arms Possession and Proliferation. A major push is needed, not just to control the conventional weapons trade, but also to “reduce holdings of major weapons systems, ordnance stocks and production. There are longstanding legal commitment in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to “general disarmament” of all weapons apart from those needed for internal policing. In terms of timescale, one could look at getting the job done in the course of a decade. If we have timetables for global warming, and if we think that it is practical to get to grips with the entire climate of the planet, we should also see that it is practical to get to grips with weaponry.