Weapons of Mass Destruction - (Weapons of Mass Destruction and Emerging Technologies) by Joseph M Siracusa & Aiden Warren (Paperback)

About the Book

This foundational primer offers a comprehensive analysis of the evolution and current status of weapons of mass destruction and seeks to inform and advance policy debate in ways that support international security, while also adding important connective tissue between analytic...

Book Synopsis

This foundational primer offers a comprehensive analysis of the evolution and current status of weapons of mass destruction and seeks to inform and advance policy debate in ways that support international security, while also adding important connective tissue between analytical areas in the IR and historical domains that often remain separate.

Review Quotes

Comprehensive and timely, Weapons of Mass Destruction is focused firmly upon the security challenges that WMD, nuclear and non-nuclear, pose to the 21st century. It presents a finely-judged account of the successive phases of nuclear history, blending well-grounded historical summaries with acute policy commentary. Writing with admirable clarity, Siracusa and Warren document how the road from 1945 led us to where we are today, with nuclear terror compounded by the insidious threats of chemical and biological attack. They show how the knife-edge stability of the Cold War was seceded by the emergence of new players and new threats which together transform the global security threat.

If you want to understand the contemporary nuclear age, how we got here, and where we are headed, look no further than this tour de force by Joseph Siracusa and Aiden Warren. Unlike previous treatments of the nuclear age which tended to focus overwhelmingly on the superpower experience, Siracusa and Warren deftly contextualize the entire nuclear age by giving equal treatment to the proliferation histories and challenges presented by regional nuclear powers--precisely those powers that pose the greatest challenge to nuclear security and nonproliferation today. This book belongs on the shelf of anyone who cares literally about the future of the world.

Joseph Siracusa and Aiden Warren are internationally-recognized security studies scholars based in Australia and their new book, Weapons of Mass Destruction, provides an excellent overview of the past, present, and future of WMD challenges. The book is highly recommend to students who will gain from a comprehensive examination of the major issues and to more seasoned experts who will benefit from the authors' original insights and analysis.

Siracusa and Warren achieve an exceptional feat by packing several decades worth of WMD history into a neat read. They take us on a journey starting in the Cold War and guide us to today, telling the story of how most destructive weapons remained a steady and dangerous fixture of the international security landscape. The authors provided true service to the field by writing a foundational text that serves as a perfect introduction to the field of WMD non-proliferation.

About the Author

Joseph M. Siracusa is professor in human security and international diplomacy at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University, in Melbourne, Australia, and president of Australia's Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS).

Aiden Warren is senior lecturer in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies and researcher in the Centre for Global Research (CGR) at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University, in Melbourne, Australia.