About the Book

The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) entered into force in 1975. This treaty prohibits the development, production, and stockpiling of biological and toxin weapons. This volume offers a comprehensive examination of the BWC’s historical development, notable achievements, and the challenges it may encounter in the future. It examines the treaty’s role in international security and assesses its effectiveness in preventing the misuse of biology for hostile purpose-a must-read for scholars, policymakers, and security professionals.

 

About the Editor

Dr Ajey Lele is Deputy Director General at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. His specific areas of research include issues related to WMD, Space Security and Strategic Technologies. He has contributed articles to various national and international journals, websites and newspapers.

Contents

Preface
List of Abbreviations
Tables and Figues
About the Editor and Contributors

SECTION I

CONTEXT

1. Biological Warfare and Biological Weapons: The Risk
Dr. Ajey Lele

2. Biological Warfare and Biological Weapons: The Response
Dr. Ajey Lele

SECTION II

TREATY ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION

3. The 1925 Geneva Protocol
Dr. Jean Pascal Zanders

4. BTWC: The History of Early Negotiations
Dr. Anshu Joshi

5. Countering the Continuing Danger from Toxin Weapons:A Role for the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention and the Chemical Weapons Convention
Prof. Malcolm Dando, Dr. Alexander Kelle, and Dr. Michael Crowley

6. Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention: Evaluating the Review Conferences
Mr. Abhishek Verma

SECTION III

NEGOTIATION AND VERIFICATION

7. Negotiating the Protocol to the BWC: An Indian Perspective
Amb. DB Venkatesh Varma

8. The BWC Working Group: Advancing Discussion Around Compliance and Verification
Dr. James Revill

SECTION IV

SCIENCE, SAFETY AND SECURITY

9. The Biological Weapons Convention at 50: Emerging Technological Challenges, Historical Lessons, and India’s Strategic Imperative
Dr. Mrinmayee Bhushan

10. Securing the Life Sciences: The Role of Biosafety and Biosecurity in the Biological Weapons Convention
Dr. Ketan Thorat and Dr. Suryesh Kumar Namdeo

11. Public Health in Reverse: WHO’s Role at the Boundary of the BWC
Dr. Kai Ilchmann

SECTION V

CHALLENGES

12. Past and Current Challenges to the 1975 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention
Dr. Tatyana Novossiolova

13. Bioterrorism and the Biological Weapons Convention: A Review of Five Decades of Evolving Treaty Framework
Mr. Animesh Roul

14. The Biological Weapons Convention at a Technological Crossroads
Prof. Manish and Ms. Vidhi Rathore

Annexures

Index