This volume studies the obstacles to nuclear disarmament and the ways to overcome them. The contributors define the prerequisites and conditions for de-nuclaerisation region-by-region and identify the political, technological and economic requirements to achieve a nuclear free world.

Part 1 The imperative of nuclear disarmament: toward a nuclear weapon-free world as a prelude to a war-free world, Joseph Rotblat; the process of nuclear disarmament, Sverre Lodgaard; ban on use - an essential condition for nuclear disarmament, Jozef Goldblat. Part 2 Arms control prerequisites for nuclear disarmament: convincing the nuclear-weapon states to disarm - the problem of conventional forces, Jonathan Dean; the elimination of chemical and biological weapons, Graham S. Pearson; possible responses to chemical and biological weapon attacks, Lawrence Scheinman; transparency in armaments and other confidence-building measures, Herbert Wulf. Part 3 Conditions for regional denuclearization: conditions in the Middle East, Yair Evron; conditions in the Persian Gulf; conditions in South Asia - as viewed by an Indian, Jasfit Singh; conditions in South Asia - as viewed by a Pakistani, Malik Azhar Ellahi; conditions in Northeast Asia, Toshiyuki Toyoda; conditions in a divided country - the case of Korea, Hiroharu Seki. Part 4 Political, technological and economic requirements for nuclear disarmament: NATO-Russia relations in a post-Cold War Eurasia, Alexander Nikitin; the role of non-governmental organizations in nuclear disarmament, David Krieger; conversion of the nuclear weapons complex - potential economic and social fallout, Joseph Di Chiaro III; domestic dimensions of disarmament - the case of China, Yitzhak Shichor; multilateral fora as an institutional link between nuclear and non-nuclear disarmament, Vladimir Petrovsky. Part 5 Summary and conclusions: summary and conclusions, Jozef Goldblat.