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THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DISARMAMENT AND DEVELOPMENT WAS HELD IN THE UN HEADQUARTERS IN 1987. THE OUTCOME WAS THE FINAL DOCUMENT ADOPTED BY CONSENSUS. THIS ARTICLE LOOKS AT THE FINAL DOCUMENT FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF PEACE RESEARCH, AND MORE SPECIFICALLY, SCRUTINIZES HOW A GOVERNMENTAL CONFERENCE FILTERS RESEARCH, I.E. HOW GOVERNMENTS PERCEIVE, SELECT, MOLD RESEARCH RESULTS AND TURN THEM TO ACTION-PROGRAMS. IT CONCLUDES THAT A BETTER-INFORMED INTERESTED PUBLIC OPINION CAN HELP TO CREATE POLITICAL WILL AT THE GOVERNMENTAL LEVEL.

THE PALME REPORT HAS PASSED REMARKABLY UNNOTICED FOR A GOOD REASON: IT IS NOT A GOOD REPORT. AFTER A BRIEF SUMMARY OF ITS FINDINGS ON DISARMAMENT AND SECURITY, THE AUTHOR CRITQUES THE REPORT IN DETAIL.

INDIA'S NUCLEAR WEAPONS TESTS OF MAY 11 AND 13, 1998 SENT SHOCK WAVES THROUGH THE WORLD AND SET BACK THE GLOBAL NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT AGENDA. IS IT STILL POSSIBLE TO SALVAGE AND STRENGTHEN THE POST-COLD WAR MOMENTUM IN FAVOR OF NUCLEAR RESTRAINT AND DISARMAMENT? ALTHOUGH THIS MOVEMENT IS WEAK, IT IS NEVERTHELESS REAL. SIX STATES WHICH POSSESSED NUCLEAR WEAPONS OR WERE NUCLEAR-CAPABLE HAVE NOW OPTED FOR NUCLEAR ABSTINENCE. THE WAY FORWARD FOR THE REST OF THE NUCLEAR STATES LIES IN BOTH ABSOLUTE AND INCREMENTAL APPROACHES, INCLUDING NO-FIRST-USE DECLARATIONS OR AGREEMENT AMONG THE NUCLEAR WEAPONS STATES, NEGOTIATIONS FOR A FISSILE MATERIAL CUT-OFF CONVENTION, AND MOST IMPORTANT, TALKS TO ELIMINATE ALL NUCLEAR WEAPONS GLOBALLY.

Frontmatter -- Acknowledgements -- Preface -- Contents -- Part One. The Economic Effects Of Defence Expenditure On The United Kingdom -- 1. Defence And The Economy -- 1. The Level of Defence Expenditure -- 2. Defence and Employment -- 3. Defence Expenditure and the Firm -- 4. Defence and Research -- 5. The Balance of Payments -- 2. Defence and Industry -- 6. The Sectors Likely to be Affected -- 7. The Aircraft Industry -- 8. The Electronics Industry -- 9. The Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Industries -- 10. Other Industries -- Part Two. The Transfer Of Resources From Defence Expenditure -- 11. Past Experience Of Disarmament -- 12. The Period Of Transition -- 13. The Ending Of The Transition Period; Forecasts Of The Permanent Redistribution Of Expenditure -- 14. The Redistribution Of Defence Expenditure To Private Consumption -- 15. The Redistribution Of Defence Expenditure Through Government Current Expenditure At Home And Increased Aid Abroad -- 16. The Redistribution Of Defence Expenditure To Investment -- 17. The Relationship Between Replacement Expenditure And Revenue -- Appendix -- Appendix A. Garrison Towns and Defence Expenditure -- Appendix B. The questionnaire sent to companies believed to carry out defence work -- Appendix C. The Estimated Cost to the Exchequer of implementing the Proposals considered in Chapters 14-16 -- List of Tables -- Index

IT HAS BEEN A FEATURE OF THE MANY FAILED ATTEMPTS TO REDUCE THE NUMBERS OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS THAT ONE SIDE PUTS FORWARD A RIGID TAKE-IT-ORLEAVE-IT PROPOSAL WHICH THE OTHER SIDE RECEIVES WITH EXTREME CAUTION. THE FACT THAT SIDE A PROPOSES SOMETHING IS TAKEN AS SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE THAT IT MUST BE TO THE DISADVANTAGE OF SIDE B. THE PROBLEM OF MATCHING ONE WEAPON SYSTEM WITH ANOTHER CAN LEAD TO ENDLESS ARGUEMENT. A SUCCESSFUL SCHEME SHOULD PROCEED BY SMALL STEPS, THAT IT SHOULD CONVINCE BOTH SIDES THAT EACH HAS BETTERED THE OTHER AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY, THAT IT SHOULD NOT BECOME EMBROILED IN THE DIFFICULTIES OF WEAPON COMPARISON.

THIS SECTION DISCUSSES SOME OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF A UNILATERAL DECISION BY THE US TO DEVELOP AND DEPLOY ABM MISSILES. THE AUTHOR RECOMMENDS AN ARMS AGREEMENT BASED ON ACCEPTANCE OF ABM LIMITATIONS AS THE ONLY WAY TO AVERT THESE CONSEQUENCES. A COMBINATION OF MEASURES TO BAN ASAT SYSTEMS, MAKE SAFEGUARDS REGARDING ABM TREATY PULL OUT, AND A COMPREHENSIVE NUCLEAR TEST BAN ARE RECOMMENDED AS A WAY TO OPEN A PATH FOR AN AGREEMENT TO HALVE THE NUMBER OF OFFENSIVE STRATEGIC WARHEADS.

A caricatured version of the disarmament-for-development thesis asserts that disarmament measures in the East-West countries (the North) will lead to more development in the South: ie, the arms race & underdevelopment are one problem. It is expected that interest in this thesis may revive in light of recent political changes in Eastern Europe; examined here is why the appeal of the thesis declined during the 1980s. It is argued that three key terms of the thesis -- security, development, & disarmament -- are inadequately conceptualized, & that the thesis embodies only one aspect of the logically possible relations between security & development of North & South countries. It is urged that the thesis be reformulated & placed in a wider security-development net. 1 Figure. Modified AA