Yes / Professor Paul Rogers gives a brief overview of the present status of international legal prohibitions against both nuclear and chemical weapons. He then goes on to discuss the need to strengthen the 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention.

Yes / Acceleration of the applications of cutting edge science is often most likely in situations involving conflict and warfare between different groups. That is the focus of this paper. It asks what we know of the past, present and possible future applications of advances in our understanding of the brain in the development of chemical weapons, and what might best be done to moderate the most dangerous aspects of that process at the present time, particularly by members of civil society. The paper therefore begins by examining this possibility of hostile manipulation of the brain in some detail. It then briefly reviews the current state of the chemical and biological arms control and disarmament regime as embodied in the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) and the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) following the 2016 8th Five Year Review Conference of the BTWC and in the lead up to the 2018 4th Five Year Review Conference of the CWC. Finally, our civil society initiative to assist in achieving a successful outcome of the 2018 CWC Review Conference is described. This initiative involves the production of a multi-authored edited book, to be published in advance of the Review Conference by the UK Royal Society of Chemistry that explores many of the critical issues facing the CWC States Parties as they seek to agree effective measures to prevent the development and use of chemical weapons, as the life and chemical sciences advance.

The goal of this diploma thesis is to present an overview of the most used chemical and biological weapons, as well as to explain their development, the links between them and their existence through the viewpoint of then contemporary sources, written or otherwise, as well as the current state of law in term of its effectivity and actual practice. The primary focus of this thesis is international law. National law is touched upon only sporadically. The first section of the thesis deals with the definition of used nomenclature, specifically the terms weapons of mass destruction, chemical and biological weapons, international law, law of armed conflicts, customary law, international treaties, forbidden means and methods of warfare. A look at the earliest history of chemical and biological weapons follows, including a brief assessment of the lack of legal regulation. The purpose of this chapter is to outline the very beginnings of this subject matter and to serve as a basis for the following chapters. The diploma thesis continues with a treatise on the birth of modern chemical and biological weapons, caused primarily by the chemo-biological revolution of the late 19th , early 20th century, while also listing the most important attempts to codify this area (e.g. the Lieber code, the Brussels Declaration, the...

The target of my thesis was to map the knowledge of the secondary school pupils of the issue of acquaintance of inhabitants with the recommended ways of the behaviour in case of the occurrence of extraordinary events (with the special accent on the events associated with the possibility of the terrorist misuse of B-agens and imported highly dangerous infection).

published_or_final_version / Politics and Public Administration / Master / Master of Philosophy

This thesis focuses upon the material culture associated with warfare, conflict and inter-personal violence in northern Britain during the Late Bronze Age, Iron Age and Early Historic Period. Its aims are to understand the evolving role of warfare in society, who were the individuals engaging in conflict, what weapons were being used, and how were they being used. Although previous studies have touched on some of these topics, the material of northern Britain is frequently overlooked in favour of southern British data, and none consider the development of the topic over several time periods. Contextual data was collected on all the extant swords, spears and shields within the parameters, while a significant proportion were fully examined to enable more complex analysis. Evident opportunities and weaknesses within the resulting database were addressed and exploited, applying experimental archaeology to the bronze spearheads to investigate use patterns, and typological theory to the iron spearheads to enable meaningful inclusion. A range of additional sources of information, including iconographic, textual and osteological, were synthesised to facilitate a discussion of the life-cycles of the extant weapons themselves, and to address occasions when a gap appears in the archaeological record – as occurs during the Early Historic Period, where weaponry is almost absent, but other forms of evidence regularly reference conflict. Two particular conclusions of this thesis challenge traditional perceptions of both weapons and warriors; spears are found to be complex, both in use and social symbolism, rather than simplistic and low-status, and their integration into general discussions of weapons and warfare is a matter of urgency if the topic is to progress. The typological groupings of iron spearheads presented here is intended as a first step towards greater inclusion. The identity of combatants is also shown to be occasionally at odds with the traditional perception of the warrior, wherein reality and idealised social constructions diverge. This is not necessarily problematic, with the projection of warrior identities shown to be a deliberate vi choice, rather than a reflection of reality, the constraints and motivations behind such choices a fascinating topic for further work. Finally, the development of armed social conflict in northern Britain over two millenia, and the changing relationships and dominance between religion, display, consumption, social hierarchy and warfare, are presented through the manufacture, use, deposition and associations of the weapons in the database.

No description available.

Approved for Public Release, Distribution is Unlimited / This thesis analyzes the impact of nuclear weapon on the doctrine and force structure of the US Army during the Early Cold War (1947-1957). It compares these impacts with those that occurred on the US Air Force and Navy during that time. Nuclear weapons brought a new aspect to warfare. Their unprecedented economy of destructive power changed the way nations viewed warfare. For the Army, nuclear weapons presented a dual challenge. The Army faced a US security policy centered on the massive use of these weapons; the Army also struggled to understand how these weapons would be utilized on the battlefield. The nation's security policy of large scale strategic nuclear bombardment of the Soviet Union favored the Air Force and to a lesser degree the Navy. The Army viewed this policy as single minded and purposely limiting the nations options to all out nuclear war or deference to another national will. In all the Army faced an internal struggle to incorporate these weapons and an external struggle to retain a useful position within the US Defense establishment during this period. / Major, United States Army

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / France opposed the US-led intervention in Iraq in March 2003 while Italy supported it. Domestic dynamics, including popular opinion and growing concern for Muslim sentiment, exerted a secondary influence on those decisions. Other factors that influenced the leaders of France and Italy to take opposing stances on the prospective intervention included security and threat assessments. Discord in US-French relations was exacerbated by disagreements over other international issues, especially the role of the UN Security Council. This thesis assesses the relative weight of these various factors in the French and Italian decisions, and examines the interplay of the key national decisions made by American, French and Italian leaders. The thesis concludes that French and Italian decisions were influenced by factors in addition to the issues in question-that is, whether the Iraqi regime had complied with the UN Security Council resolutions calling for the elimination of weapons of mass destruction and certain delivery means and, if not, whether the use of force was an appropriate and justified course of action. It also concludes that the severe damage to US-French relations may be overcome as Paris and Washington cooperate in meeting international security responsibilities. The European Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy may face greater challenges, owing to the significant intra-EU differences revealed during the Iraq crisis. / Major, United States Air Force

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / Theory and simulations of the railgun and free electron laser are presented, as well as a suggestion for extending the railgun lifecycle. The theory, design, and analysis of an electromagnetic railgun using a numerical model are discussed. The effects of varying electrical pulse formations, rail materials and geometries are explored. The application of a metallurgical process to mitigate hypervelocity gouging in railgun rails is proposed. This concept, to delay the onset velocity of gouging by laser-peening rails surfaces, may significantly increase the velocity at which projectiles acceptably traverse the barrel and extend the useful life of rails. If successful, this process would apply to any pair of materials in sliding contact at high relative velocity, including rocket sled tracks and light gas guns barrels. The status of proof-of-concept tests at LLNL, UC Davis, and UT is covered. FEL simulations investigating the effect that electron beam focal point variations have on the optical mode within the undulator are presented. / Lieutenant, United States Navy