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Collins: Contemporary Security Studies

Chapter 15

Instructions

Choose your answers from a-d by clicking the radio button next to each choice and then press 'Submit' to get your score.

Question 1

It has been argued by Braun and Chyba (2004) that indigenous nuclear programs are making proliferation safeguards obsolete. In what ways, if any, can a case be made to support this argument?

a) WMD may provide the means to offset inferiority in conventional armaments compared to regional or Superpower rivals. Possession of WMD may act as a deterrence to stronger opponents against potential threat, or be used to defeat their adversaries if engaged in combat. WMD capabilities may also developed to gain automatic status and diplomatic influence amongst the international community.

b) Although there are fears posed by WMD proliferation that terrorists may gain the capacity to develop weapons, it would remain very difficult to construct even a primitive gun-type nuclear weapon. However, whilst nuclear capabilities may be elusive, international or domestic terrorist networks may have the resources to construct and use chemical, biological, and radiological weapons.

c) WMD vary vastly in terms of their availability, lethality, and destructive potential and the ease with which they can be manufactured which means that the potential threats will be posed in slightly different ways. High yields, lightweight nuclear weapons, use highly sophisticated technology, whilst some chemical and biological weapons have been available for a long time. What separates WMD from conventional weapons however is the potential to cause high level destruction. Because of the psychological fear possession can generate, WMD will remain highly desirable as a political weapon.

d) All of the above.

Question 2

What Are Fission Nuclear Weapons?

a) Fission nuclear weapons are gun-type devices that require a relatively small amount of fissile uranium-235 material to produce a comparatively large explosion because mass and energy becomes interchangeable in the barrel. Implosion devices however are unable to sustain the reaction, the neutron generator is unable to set off the interchange being destroyed in the explosion.

b) Implosion fissure devices are constructed with relative ease because unlike the gun-type fissure device it uses high-explosive shaped lenses to compress the fissile material to critical tolerance. Detonation however is highly volatile with a high potential of "going critical".

c) Fissile weapons are produced by the rapid rearrangement of hydrogen, oxygen, carbon and nitrogen in a chamber, striking each other at high velocities the friction sparking a chemical explosion.

d) Gun type devices are of rugged design using two sub-critical masses fired down a barrel at very high velocities with a high probability of producing a reaction. Implosion devices are more complex requiring the assembling of shaped charges to compress the fissile material to critical tolerances and detonated with more than split-second timing.

Question 3

In what ways is a fusion nuclear device different from a fission device?

a) A fusion weapon is a three-stage-bomb that uses an implosion device to create a fission reaction, which then detonates a fusion reaction. It is often referred to a thermo-nuclear, or hydrogen, device and has unlimited destructive potential.

b) A fusion reaction is created when the nuclei of two light elements are combined, the reaction resulting in heavier elements fragmenting into smaller parts. This fragmentation releases energy of limited destructive capacity, the extent of energy released dependent on the mass of material used.

c) A fusion device is a two-stage process where a gun-type device is used to trigger a series of fission reactions with the cumulative result being the production of a high energy flash explosion with unlimited thermal energy.

d) Fusion weapons have a highly specific destructive effect. The heavier element produced from a fissions reaction, and the difference in mass from the two lighter nuclei (which is translated into an energy explosion) can be precision calculated. Bombs even within the multi-megaton range have unlimited military utility, their destructive capability can be manufactured according to the target.

Question 4

What are the effects of nuclear weapons?

a) A nuclear blast produces EMP, a thermal light pulse, blast, and fallout at the moment of detonation. Electro-magnetic pulse occurs when gamma radiation interacts with matter (the atmosphere), "the Compton effect." EMP produces a high voltage charge, harmless to humans but can destroy electronic systems. EMP effects are maximized at high altitude. However thermal-light pulse can produce flash blindness, retinal burn, and fire whilst the airburst can cause causes severe skin burns.

b) A nuclear detonation produces a shockwave resulting from a rise in atmospheric pressure and dynamic overpressure sufficient to destroy concrete structures. Blast effects were generally used by military planners to calculate casualty rates in a nuclear attack: It was estimated that 50 percent living in a five mile radius of a one-mgt airburst would be killed or wounded by blast effects

c) Nuclear reactions in the initial nuclear detonation or the fallout can cause radiation, irradiated debris picked up by the nuclear fireball and lofted into the atmosphere. A dirty bomb uses chemical high-explosive to disperse radioactive material relying on radiation to produce a lethal effect. However, panic set off by even a limited dispersion of radioactive material however might be more costly in terms of the disruption it causes than actual casualties or damage to property produced by a dirty bomb detonation and some observers believe that the blast causes the greatest amount of damage.

d) All of the above

Question 5

What has been the impact of nuclear deterrence on international politics post-Cold War?

a) There is a developing scholarly trend toward proliferation pessimism, a pattern which has gained momentum rather than subsided with the end of the Cold War. There is wide concern of accidental war, either through misperception, psychological or technical problems that can lead to spiraling tensions which result in a failure of deterrence policy. In addition normal accidents resulting from the inability of a state to capably anticipate human-machine interactions in the complexities of the international (and anarchical) system may also occur.

b) Proliferation optimists dispute the claim that nuclear technology leads to a propensity of the holding actor towards war. However, they do concede that there is the risk of terrorist states or actors acquiring the components to assemble onsite or smuggle the weapon could create an existential threat to the international system, the threat is not yet a reality. Furthermore, the ability to retaliate can eliminate an opponent's potential gain.

c) Despite the recognition that the ability to retaliate , the secure second-strike capability, produces a situation known as crisis stability, there is no consensus on the impact nuclear capabilities, whether a source of stabilization or an existential threat. However there is agreement that the spread of WMD capacity to non-state actors would be fundamentally detrimental to international security based on the recognition that existing deterrence strategies and capabilities do not address the use of nuclear weapons. Indeed whilst the possibility exists states will have to heighten security efforts.

d) Deterrence has proved to have been a source of stabilization during the Cold war but proliferation pessimists contend that new states' development programs do not provide sufficient guarantees that the state sponsors will act as good custodians. Weak state structures might result in sabotage, accidental use, or even theft. There is also the problem of states developing technology under the guise of deterrence whilst having ulterior motives. Domestic pressures may result in a regime gravitating towards nuclear war fighting strategies to win a rapid victory and strengthen status.

Question 6

In what ways might the effects of chemical weapons affect the decision to deploy it against a target?

a) Chemical weapons are argued to be a highly complicated means to conduct an assault with the intent of producing mass casualties. For example, whilst the Aum Shinrikyo cult launched a sarin attack on the Tokyo subway system in 1995 resulting in twelve deaths, the Al-Qaeda attack on the Madrid train system using conventional explosives killed nearly two hundred. The unpredictability of chemicals (the degree of evaporation, stability and concentration) frequently proves to be incommensurate with political objectives

b) Analysts are concerned with the potential ease of chemical manufacturing. Weapons could be quickly and effectively deployed being light concealable and rapidly deployed. Most weapons can be delivered in a line source for example a crop duster or administered through an aerosol. Dispersal in areas of poor ventilation or closed venues where people are in close proximity could have potentially catastrophic effects.

c) Chemical weapons are argued to belong to the category of weapons of mass destruction having the potential to cause mass casualties Moderate exposure to chemicals produce serious side effects would generate serious casualties if weaponized and long term dehabilitating side-effects on governmental infrastructure e.g. healthcare and resource allocation.

d) Wind, temperature and terrain can affect the lethality and persistence of an agent and is dependent on the extensity and degree of contact with the target.

Question 7

What has been the effect of chemical weapons on international society?

a) The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) prohibited the possession or deployment of chemical weapons, however failed to implement stipulations that would require signatories to declare their existing stocks of chemical weapons, to identify facilities that were once involved in chemical production, nor to announce when their existing stocks would be destroyed.

b) The CWC made some important developments regarding the use and possession of chemical weapons and the destruction of existing stockpiles. However, the treaty failed to establish an independent body empowered with the capacity to check treaty compliance. Lack of supra-state authority has undermined the ability to enforce those developments. Given the anarchical nature of international society it may be in the national security interest to retain stocks.

c) Chemical weapons continue to exert a determining influence on international society. As early as the 1970s military strategists were convinced of the deterrence effects chemical weapons could have, comparable to the second strike survival logic of nuclear deterrence. The preferences of strategists resulted in continued manufacture and stockpiling of weapons creating an international crisis of stability.

d) While the CWC has been ratified by the majority of international society, some nations with a large chemical capability at their disposal have yet to enter into the treaty. However, to some analysts the destructive military potential would be limited, having a moderate effect on a well-equipped army in conventional warfare. Chemical arsenal essentially falls under the category of the "poor mans" weaponry, being simplistic and inexpensive whilst having limited military utility. However, the concern remains of the prospective impact a terrorist chemical attack could have on civilian populations.

Question 8

To what effect have biological weapons been weaponized?

a) Military professionals believe that the majority of biological agents can be sufficiently stable in their effects to be used as a weapon. Resource requirements would be minimal as fermenters used to make vaccines could be converted for military production and relatively small quantities of the agent are required to produce highly lethal effects, making them an efficient and effective weapon.

b) Construction of the means to transmit biological weapons in warfare have focused on the use of vectors, for example lice, fleas, or mosquitoes, as a mode of transmission as a military weapon because the target would find it difficult to contain the source of the outbreak and place the infrastructure of the country under

c) Biological agents comprise bacteria, viral, and toxin agents. However, not every disease provides the basis for an effective biological weapon. An agent's storage, delivery, mode of transmission and its very resilience can shape its effects on a target population.

d) Inoculation programs against naturally occurring disease have eradicated the potentiality of viral agents to cause a global pandemic. Vaccination capabilities have undermined calls for the weaponization of viral agents made by some military strategists as most public health authorities at the local level have in place programs to deal with a possible outbreak whilst at the global level the World Health Organization has a framework for procedure in such an event.

Question 9

What has the effect of biological weapons been on national security in the international community?

a) The West, notably Canada, Britain and the US have conducted research into the weaponization of Anthrax, Tularemia, Q-fever, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, and anti-agricultural agents. However biological weapons were generally viewed in the West as lacking military utility by strategists, concentrating instead on nuclear and conventional capabilities.

b) The Soviet Union carried out the most extensive research program into genetic engineering to weaponize naturally occurring diseases. However the Soviets most likely saw their biological weapons program as a counter to the global-strike complex that was emerging in NATO in the 1970s or as a way to inhibit recovery in a nuclear exchange. Biological weapons programs should therefore be regarded in a Cold War context.

c) Biological weapons make use of living organisms or toxins to weaken or kill, but because these organisms and toxins occur in nature it makes it difficult to differentiate between naturally occurring disease and subversive activities which, moreover, make a state's capacity hard to verify.

d) All of the Above.

Question 10

What is the future of WMD?

a) The viability of the CWC and BCW providing a concrete basis in international law to prevent the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons is dubious. The Proliferation Security Initiative to prevent the illicit trade in materials relating to chemical and nuclear weapons is an equally piecemeal pursuit. Whilst they may serve some utility as a framework for diplomatic exchanges, they are essentially toothless bodies lacking the political will to establish an authority with the powers to police the control and use of these weapons.

b) The International Nonproliferation Regime has been rendered effectively defunct in the post-Cold War climate. State actors seeking to develop their own weapons capabilities have de-stabilized norms governing the use and control of WMD. This has been evidenced by severe splits in the body following the 1998 Indian and Pakistani nuclear testing and the withdrawal of great power support following the US Senate's decision not to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

c) Contemporary concern has been pacified by the fact that WMD threat has greatly diminished with the end of the Cold War. A number of deployed Soviet (Russian) and strategic warheads and US tactical nuclear weapons have been withdrawn from service thereby removing the threat of total war by massive nuclear exchange.

d) WMD terrorism poses a security threat that is not easily met by today's policy community or military establishments: the second strike rule is virtually obsolete because of the difficulty of locating such groups and deterrence is an unviable strategy given that objective of attacks are frequently politically, ideologically or religiously motivated.

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Oxford University Press, Online Resource Centre, Chapter 15.