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Disarmament refers to the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons. Disarmament." The American Heritage The context of disarmament generally refers to a country's military
Military

A military is an organization authorized by its nation to use force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or Threat of force ....
 or specific type of weaponry. The most common form of disarmament is abolishment of weapons of mass destruction
Weapons of mass destruction

A weapon of mass destruction is a weapon that can kill large numbers of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures , natural structures , or the biosphere in general....
, such as nuclear arms
Nuclear weapon

A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either nuclear fission or a combination of fission and nuclear fusion....
. General and Complete Disarmament refers to the removal of all weaponry, including conventional arms.

rmament can be contrasted with arms control
Arms control

Arms control is an umbrella term for restrictions upon the development, production, stockpiling, proliferation, and usage of weapons, especially weapons of mass destruction....
, which essentially refers to the act of controlling arms rather than eliminating them.






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Encyclopedia


Disarmament refers to the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons. Disarmament." The American Heritage The context of disarmament generally refers to a country's military
Military

A military is an organization authorized by its nation to use force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or Threat of force ....
 or specific type of weaponry. The most common form of disarmament is abolishment of weapons of mass destruction
Weapons of mass destruction

A weapon of mass destruction is a weapon that can kill large numbers of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures , natural structures , or the biosphere in general....
, such as nuclear arms
Nuclear weapon

A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either nuclear fission or a combination of fission and nuclear fusion....
. General and Complete Disarmament refers to the removal of all weaponry, including conventional arms.

Definitions of disarmament

Disarmament can be contrasted with arms control
Arms control

Arms control is an umbrella term for restrictions upon the development, production, stockpiling, proliferation, and usage of weapons, especially weapons of mass destruction....
, which essentially refers to the act of controlling arms rather than eliminating them. A distinction can also be made between disarmament as a process (the process of eliminating weapons), and disarmament as an end state (the absence of weapons). Disarmament has also come to be associated with three things, none of which relate to the systematic and comprehensive reduction of weapons:
  • The aforementioned arms control, which is not associated with a schedule of gradually reducing and then eliminating major weapons systems. These agreements have been criticized in writings by Seymour Melman
    Seymour Melman

    Seymour Melman was an American professor emeritus of industrial engineering and operations research at Columbia University's Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science....
     and Alva Myrdal
    Alva Myrdal

    Alva Reimer Myrdal was a Sweden sociologist and politician. She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1982. She married Gunnar Myrdal in 1924.Born in Uppsala, she first came to public notice in the 1930s, and was one of the main driving forces in the creation of the Swedish welfare state....
    .
  • Nuclear disarmament
    Nuclear disarmament

    Nuclear disarmament is the proposed dismantling of nuclear weapons.Proponents of nuclear disarmament say that it would lessen the probability of Nuclear warfare occurring, especially accidentally....
    , which does not address civilian weapons and military systems whose firepower and extent of damage can be considerable. The war in Iraq has led to the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians. In the Korean War
    Korean War

    The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korea and South Korea regimes, with major hostilities lasting from June 25, 1950 until the armistice signed on July 27, 1953....
    , hundreds of thousands have died. In so-called "New Wars
    New Wars

    New wars describe international or civil wars of low-intensity conflict that involve a myriad of transnational connections so that the distinctions between internal and external, aggression and repression, local and global are difficult to sustain....
    " in Africa, millions have died. In none of these cases were nuclear weapons used. Yet, the extent of civilian and military deaths have been considerable, surpassing the damage caused by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
    Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

    The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear warfares near the end of World War II against the Empire of Japan by the United States at the executive order of President of the United States Harry S....
     during World War Two.
  • Unilateral disarmament
    Unilateral disarmament

    Unilateral disarmament is a policy option, to renounce weapons without seeking equivalent concessions from one's actual or potential rivals. It was most commonly used in the 20th century in the context of unilateral nuclear disarmament, a recurrent objective of peace movements in countries such as the USA and the UK....
    , which seeks to reduce weapons systems in either an ad hoc fashion or based on initiatives within one nation. This approach fails to leverage reductions in one country for reductions in another, or series of countries. Furthermore, unilateral disarmament, as was advocated in the United Kingdom, fails to assuage the concerns of "realists" about the dangers of weapons systems and power projection by other countries.


Philosophically, disarmament should be viewed as a form of demilitarization, part of an economic, political, technical, and military process to reduce and eliminate weapons systems. Thus, disarmament is part of a set of other strategies, like economic conversion
Economic conversion

Economic conversion, defence conversion, or arms conversion, is a technical, economic and political process for moving from military to civilian markets....
, which aim to reduce the power of war making institutions and associated constituencies. Disarmament need not be a "utopian" project in the sense of being misguided or naive. Rather, various strategies can be used to promote the political, economic, and media power necessary for demilitarization.

History


An example on the feasibility of the elimination of weapons is the policy of gradual reduction of guns
Arquebus

The arquebus is an early Muzzle -loaded firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries. In distinction from its predecessor, the hand cannon, it has a matchlock....
 in Japan during the Tokugawa shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the , and the , was a feudalism regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family....
. In two centuries, Japan passed from being the country with more guns per capita to producing (or importing) none.

Disarmament conferences and treaties


Conferences


  • 1899: Hague Conferences
  • 1932-34: World Disarmament Conference
    World Disarmament Conference

    The Conference for the Reduction and Limitation of Armaments of 1932-34 was an effort by member states of the League of Nations, together with the United States and the Soviet Union, to actualize the ideology of disarmament....
  • The Conference on Disarmament (CD)
  • Anti-Personnel Landmine Convention (APLC)
  • 1980: Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons
    Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons

    The United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons , concluded at Geneva on October 10, 1980 and entered into force in December 1983, seeks to prohibit or restrict the use of certain conventional weapons which are considered excessively injurious or whose effects are indiscriminate....
     (CCW)
  • 1972: Biological Weapons Convention
    Biological Weapons Convention

    The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction was the first multilateral disarmament treaty banning the production of an entire category of weapons ....
     (BWC)
  • 1993: Chemical Weapons Convention
    Chemical Weapons Convention

    The Chemical Weapons Convention is an arms control agreement which outlaws the production, stockpiling and use of chemical warfares. Its full name is the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction....
     (CWC)


Naval
  • 1908–1909: London Naval Conference
    London Naval Conference

    There were three major international naval conferences in London, the first in 1908-09, the second in 1930 and the third in 1935. The latter two, together with the Washington Naval Conference in 1921-22 and the Geneva Conferences , resulted in agreements between the major powers on navy vessel numbers, armaments and the rules of engagement in the i...
  • 1921–1922: Washington Naval Conference
    Washington Naval Conference

    The Washington Naval Conference also called the Washington Arms Conference, was a military conference called by the administration of President Warren G....
  • 1927: Geneva Naval Conference
    Geneva Naval Conference

    The Geneva Naval Conference was a conference held to discuss naval arms limitation, held in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1927. This is a separate conference from the later general disarmament conference, the Geneva Conference ....
  • 1930: London Naval Conference
    London Naval Conference

    There were three major international naval conferences in London, the first in 1908-09, the second in 1930 and the third in 1935. The latter two, together with the Washington Naval Conference in 1921-22 and the Geneva Conferences , resulted in agreements between the major powers on navy vessel numbers, armaments and the rules of engagement in the i...
     leading to the London Naval Treaty
    London Naval Treaty

    The London Naval Treaty was an agreement between the United Kingdom, the Empire of Japan, France, Italy and the United States, signed on April 22, 1930, which regulated submarine warfare and limited naval shipbuilding....
  • 1935: London Naval Conference
    London Naval Conference

    There were three major international naval conferences in London, the first in 1908-09, the second in 1930 and the third in 1935. The latter two, together with the Washington Naval Conference in 1921-22 and the Geneva Conferences , resulted in agreements between the major powers on navy vessel numbers, armaments and the rules of engagement in the i...
     leading to the Second London Naval Treaty
    Second London Naval Treaty

    The Second London Naval Disarmament Conference opened in London, the United Kingdom, on December 9, 1935. It resulted in the Second London Naval Treaty which was signed on March 25, 1936....


Treaties


  • Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
    Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty

    The Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty was a treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union on the limitation of the anti-ballistic missile systems used in defending areas against missile-delivered nuclear weapons....
  • Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
  • Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
    Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty

    The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was a 1987 agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union. Signed in Washington, D.C. by President of the United States Ronald Reagan and General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev on December 8, 1987, it was ratified by the United States Senate on Ma...
  • London Naval Treaty
    London Naval Treaty

    The London Naval Treaty was an agreement between the United Kingdom, the Empire of Japan, France, Italy and the United States, signed on April 22, 1930, which regulated submarine warfare and limited naval shipbuilding....
  • Second London Naval Treaty
    Second London Naval Treaty

    The Second London Naval Disarmament Conference opened in London, the United Kingdom, on December 9, 1935. It resulted in the Second London Naval Treaty which was signed on March 25, 1936....
  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
    Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

    The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is a treaty to limit the spread of nuclear weapons, opened for signature on July 1, 1968....
  • Outer Space Treaty
    Outer Space Treaty

    The Outer Space Treaty, formally known as the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, is a treaty that forms the basis of international space law....
  • Seabed Arms Control Treaty
    Seabed Arms Control Treaty

    The Seabed Arms Control Treaty is a multilateral agreement between the United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and 84 other countries banning the emplacement of nuclear weapons or "weapons of mass destruction" on the ocean floor beyond a 12-mile coastal zone....
  • Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty
    Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty

    The Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty of 1995, or Bangkok Treaty, is a nuclear weapons moratorium treaty between 10 Asian member-states under the auspices of the ASEAN: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam....
  • Treaty battleship
    Treaty battleship

    A treaty battleship was a battleship built in the 1920s or 1930s under the terms of one of a number of international treaty governing warship construction....
  • Treaty of Rarotonga
    Treaty of Rarotonga

    The Treaty of Rarotonga is the common name for the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty, which formalizes a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in the Pacific Ocean....
  • Treaty of Tlatelolco
    Treaty of Tlatelolco

    The Treaty of Tlatelolco is the conventional name given to the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean....
  • Washington Naval Treaty
    Washington Naval Treaty

    The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, limited the naval armaments of its five signatories: the United States of America, the British Empire, the Empire of Japan, the French Third Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy ....
  • Wassenaar Arrangement
    Wassenaar Arrangement

    The Wassenaar Arrangement is a multilateral export control regime with 40 participating states.It is the successor to the Cold war-era COCOM, and was established on May 12, 1996, in the Netherlands town of Wassenaar, near The Hague....
  • 1919: Treaty of Versailles
    Treaty of Versailles

    The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaty at the end of World War I. It ended the declaration of war between German Empire and Allies of World War I....
    , included disarmament clauses
  • Anglo-German Naval Agreement
    Anglo-German Naval Agreement

    The Anglo-German Naval Agreement of June 18, 1935 was a bilateral agreement between the United Kingdom and Nazi Germany regulating the size of the Kriegsmarine in relation to the Royal Navy....
  • 1999:Ottawa Treaty
    Ottawa Treaty

    The Ottawa Treaty or the Mine Ban Treaty, formally the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, bans completely all anti-personnel mines ....
    The Ottawa Treaty was passed and signed by 130 nations. The treaty banned the production, trade, and use of all anti-personnel landmines. Today, 30 nations have destroyed their stockpile of anti-personnel landmines. This treaty has been hailed as a major breakthrough in the fight for world disarmament.


Nuclear disarmament

The United Nations
United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, Social change, human rights and achieving world peace....
 has worked for nuclear disarmament
Nuclear disarmament

Nuclear disarmament is the proposed dismantling of nuclear weapons.Proponents of nuclear disarmament say that it would lessen the probability of Nuclear warfare occurring, especially accidentally....
 ever since its first resolution in 1946 entitled "The Establishment of a Commission to Deal with the Problems Raised by the Discovery of Atomic Energy." In 1954, India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
 became the first country to seek a complete nuclear test ban

There are three types of nuclear disarmament:

  • General Disarmament: allows nations to keep minimum necessary police force.
  • Quantitative and Qualitative Disarmament: involves overall reduction and abolition of only certain types of armaments.
  • Total Disarmament: the complete elimination of armaments.


Disarmament barriers

The political and economic barriers to disarmament are considerable, mostly based on the concentrated power of those supporting militaristic
Militarism

File:CaptainJ.R.Jellicoe.jpgMilitarism is the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests....
 approaches to foreign policy. One key barrier is ideological. Many foundations and universities have failed to support research in disarmament, instead favoring more ad hoc and limited approaches like arms control, conflict resolution
Conflict resolution

Conflict resolution is a range of processes aimed at alleviating or eliminating sources of conflict. The term "conflict resolution" is sometimes used interchangeably with the term dispute resolution or alternative dispute resolution....
, and limits on weapons systems in specific countries. Part of this may be pragmatism, but often it is the result of a limited understanding of the history of disarmament (see References below). Attempts to restrict nuclear proliferation are of course a necessity. Bolstering these efforts would be assisted by checking the link between military intervention and nuclear proliferation. Many countries fearful of being invaded, particularly by the U.S., have tried to secure or develop nuclear weapons. As a result, policies to limit military interventions may be part of a larger demilitarization program.

Misconceptions about disarmament


In his definition of "disarmament", David Carlton writes in the Oxford University Press Political dictionary, "But confidence in such measures of arms control, especially when unaccompanied by extensive means of verification, has not been strengthened by the revelation that the Soviet Union in its last years successfully concealed
Soviet program of biological weapons

The Soviet Union began a biological weapons program in the 1920s at the Leningrad Military Academy in Moscow under the control of the state security apparatus, known as the State Political Directorate....
 consistent and systematic cheating on its obligations under the Biological Weapons Convention
Biological Weapons Convention

The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction was the first multilateral disarmament treaty banning the production of an entire category of weapons ....
." He also notes, "Now a freeze or a mutually agreed increase is not strictly speaking disarmament at all. And such measures may not even be intended to be a first step towards any kind of reduction or abolition. For the aim may simply be to promote stability in force structures. Hence a new term to cover such cases has become fashionable since the 1960s, namely, arms control."

The problem with this line of thought is that it gives the appearance of confusing arms control with disarmament, even though it acknowledges some difference. Disarmament by definition involves inspection and verification procedures. Thus, the book by Seymour Melman
Seymour Melman

Seymour Melman was an American professor emeritus of industrial engineering and operations research at Columbia University's Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science....
, Inspection for Disarmament, addresses various problems related to the problem of inspection for disarmament, evasion teams, and capabilities and limitations of aerial inspection. Gradually, as the idea of arms control displaced the idea of disarmament, the weaknesses of the present arms control paradigm have created problems for the idea of disarmament itself. Weak inspection procedures lead to cheating. Cheating discredits comprehensive disarmament, rather than the more superficial arms control regime. This kind of "guilt by association" is rather unfortunate and reflects a weakness in the academia in the understanding, teaching, and awareness of what disarmament really is.

Most citizens, students and even academics are unaware of the classic books on disarmament.

See also

  • United Nations Art Collection
    United Nations Art Collection

    The United Nations Art Collection is a collective group of work of art and historic objects donated as gifts to the United Nations by its member states, associations or individuals....
  • Washington Naval Conference
    Washington Naval Conference

    The Washington Naval Conference also called the Washington Arms Conference, was a military conference called by the administration of President Warren G....
     of 1921-22


External links

  • Blogsite
  • Archive of Related Writings
  • Archive of Related Writings