Publication

This is an updated and revised version of Occasional Paper No. 6, published in January 2006. Following a short introduction, the first section of the paper describes the origins of the term "Weapons of Mass Destruction" (WMD) and its subsequent use in arms control and disarmament negotiations. The second section discusses how the national security and law enforcement communities use the term. A third section dissects the main alternative definitions for WMD, including an assessment of the problems associated with their use.