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International Online Training Program On Intractable Conflict |
Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado, USA |
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International Online Training Program On Intractable Conflict |
Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado, USA |
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In cases where the escalation cycle of threat and counter threat has led to a situation in which opponents are threatening each other with increasingly large military forces, disarmament strategies can play an important step toward de-escalation. Here the goal is to reduce the level of armaments or restructure the deployment of military forces in ways which reduce the likelihood of violent confrontation.
While complete disarmament is rarely achieved, more limited arms reduction or weapons redeployment efforts are often successful. Often arms races are the result in situations where the parties feel that their ability to successfully respond to a military attack is highly limited, and any reduction in their force levels without corresponding reduction in their opponents forces would place them in an extremely vulnerable and dangerous position. This fear can prevent the conclusion of successful disarmament agreement, unless some mechanism is created which guarantees that there will be simultaneous and comparable force reductions with no realistic possibility of cheating.
Disarmament is a major area of study unto itself, and we are not experts in that topic. Therefore, links are provided to several good sources on disarmament information outside of the Consortium system.
NGO Committee on Disarmament - Disarmament Links
United Nations Information on Disarmament
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