Incapacitating Biochemical Weapons : Promise or Peril?

Incapacitating Biochemical Weapons comprehensively examines the scientific, military, legal, political, and social issues raised by the pursuit of such weapons, issues that urgently require the attention of scientists, military and civilian practitioners and policy makers, and broader civil society.

Incapacitating Biochemical Weapons examines the promise and peril behind weapons based on natural or synthetic biochemical compounds that are meant to cause rapid incapacitation but not to kill. An agent has yet to be found that can effectively incapacitate people without risk of death when used in a real-world military or law enforcement situation. But revolutionary advances in the life sciences and biotechnology are generating new knowledge and potentially greater capabilities for manipulating human consciousness, emotions, mental functions, and behavior. These advances, coupled with the changing nature of conflict and warfare in the 21st century, are generating renewed government interest in incapacitating biochemical weapons. Governments, international organizations, and society as a whole have critical decisions to make about whether and how to pursue the development, or conversely the effective prohibition, of incapacitating biochemical weapons. This book provides a comprehensive survey of the scientific, military, humanitarian, legal, and political issues associated with the development and use of incapacitating biochemical weapons. The expert contributing authors explore a wide range of issues pertinent to the topic from science to history to current military interest, arms control, and international law.Incapacitating Biochemical Weapons: Promise or Peril? will be of interest to scientists, the military and law enforcement communities, policy-makers, and all who are concerned about the proliferation of such weapons.