Thomas Stock - Böcker

This book addresses the technical, organizational and political aspects of the national implementation measures of the projected Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). It is essential that individual potential states parties now undertake studies to present a detailed picture of the implications of their obligations under a CWC. Experts from several countries in the field of disarmament and from the chemical industry examine and review experiences gained from different areas of arms control and disarmament regulations, national legislation and regulations relevant to the operation of the National Authority in the framework of the projected Convention. The study presents a range of options and is aimed at helping states parties in the development of procedures required by the National Authority. A detailed analysis of their obligations as outlined in the current draft text of the Convention is also presented. This study attempts to stimulate the potential states parties to start a review of their own specific national implementation obligations. The book includes a bibliography, tables, and relevant documents.

In October 1993, eighteen experts from ten countries met in Munster, Germany at the German NBC Defence Research Establishment to discuss various aspects of the problem of old chemical munitions and toxic armament wastes. This volume, that conference, and the research project from which both grew were supported by the Volkswagen Foundation. This comprehensive study covers: characteristics of chemical warfare agents and toxic armament wastes, their detoxification, deterioration and degradation; technical approaches to them; past chemical weapon (CW) production activities; CW disposal and destruction; sea dumping of CW; and legal issues related to old chemical munitions and toxic armament wastes.

Where lie the origins of North Korean ideology? When, why, and to what extent did North Korean ideology begin to transform into the idiosyncratic ideology that it is today? In this first comprehensive Cold War history of North Korean ideology, Thomas Stock traces its development from Soviet Marxism-Leninism to the distinct North Korean ideology of today. Stock uncovers the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s historical investment in the Marxist-Leninist tradition, a global intellectual force whose internal debates and philosophy structured the evolution of North Korean ideology. Marxism-Leninism varied across space and time, whirling in a constant process of mutation, in relation to which North Korea's own ideology developed. Using Eastern European archival materials, North Korean party documents, and other new sources, this book provides an unprecedented and empirically grounded look into the exact evolutionary process of North Korea's state ideology, from its Soviet origins all the way to the iconic chuch'e ideology. This process was driven not so much by historical legacies such as Confucianism or Kim Il Sung's guerrilla experience than by worldwide Marxist-Leninist controversies, geopolitical shifts, and the interests of party elites. Throughout the Cold War, North Korea was anything but a spiritually isolated country. As a result, North Korean ideology, too, constituted a thoroughly global product, not the hermetic construct it is often made out to be.