Originally posted on Norman Paterson School of International Affairs:
By Jez Littlewood NPSIA’s disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation course began last week (INAF 5201). Once the administrative side of the first class was completed I began the class with the 2015 Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists What would happen if an 800-kiloton nuclear warhead detonated…
UN report holds Assad responsible for chemical attacks – but don’t expect justice any time soon
Brett Edwards, University of Bath and Mattia Cacciatori, University of Bath A United Nations mandated investigatory body has officially implicated the Syrian Air Force in chemical weapon (CW) attacks in Syria. The report also accuses the Islamic State (IS) of one CW attack – but, in a depressingly predictable turn of events, those findings which … Continue reading
We STILL need to talk about Synbio: New report on Synbio at the BTWC and CWC
New Report: A Decade of Synthetic Biology in the Context of the Biological and Toxin Weapon Convention and the Chemical Weapon Convention By Dr Brett Edwards (University of Bath) and Dr James Revill (University of Sussex) Executive Summary In recent years, synthetic biology has become symbolic of many of the challenges that advances in science … Continue reading
Syria and the Future of the Chemical Weapon Taboo
For many commentators, international responses to the use of chemical weapons in Syria has reinforced a long standing prohibition norm (Price, 2013). This is despite the fact that much discussed punitive military strikes by the US, France and the UK in response to the Ghouta massacre did not materialise(Irish and Nichols, 2013). The norm is … Continue reading
Daydreams and Nightmares in Biological Weapon Control
Today, interest in the development of biological weapons is the mark of a desperate pariah state or terrorist group. International efforts have led to the de-legitimation of these weapons, improvements in defences, as well as improved processes of detection, attribution, and prosecution. Such efforts have also fostered the emergence of domestic legal frameworks worldwide. The centrepiece … Continue reading
New funded PhD position: Expertise and the Future of Global Biochemical Weapon Control
Expertise and the Future of Global Biochemical Weapon Control Applications are invited for a full-time University studentship (full funding for UK and EU students) to support and work in the Department of Politics, Languages and International Relations at the University of Bath. Background The recent use of chemical weapons in the Middle-East and the re-emergence … Continue reading
