An extensive system of export controls has been used for decades to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. For some time the goal was primarily to contain Soviet power, but recent world events - including the breakup of the Soviet Union and the increased military strength of other parts of the world - have made the goal of nonproliferation more diffuse and more complex. This volume provides the groundwork for understanding the potential for multilateral coordination by examining in detail the domestic institutions and policies of supplier and target states.
Unlike most work that has focused solely on Western suppliers, this volume examines a wide range of countries representing a broad spectrum of political, economic, social, and security values: the United States, Russia, Germany, France, India, Brazil, Bulgaria, the former Czechoslovakia, Poland, and South Korea. The contributors look at the political, economic, bureaucratic, and military forces that are shaping each country's export control policies on strategic goods, technologies, and services. The case studies highlight the very different views held by these countries on the opportunities for, and constraints on, using export controls to further nonproliferation goals.
International Cooperation on Nonproliferation Export Controls will attract both the academic and policy sectors of the export control community as well as scholars of international political economy, foreign policy, and national security studies. Its comparative format allows unique observations on the policy process of emerging democracies, particularly those of the postcommunist states.