ABSTRACT
Chemical and biological weapons, which have been around for centuries, predate nuclear weapons, which only made their appearance in 1945. Liberal institutionalists would prefer strengthening the multilateral treaty-based institutions to address weapons of mass destruction (WMD) challenges rather than opt for ad hoc and military options. This chapter begins with a brief historical overview of the evolution and development of the various international institutions and regimes to deal with nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. It looks at the role of informal and ad hoc arrangements and their relationship to the formal treaty-based institutions. The chapter identifies the challenges ahead and explores the prospects of the regimes in addressing them. If the treaty-based regime is ineffective in holding member states to their commitments, it is even weaker in its efforts to deal with both non-member states as well as non-state actors.
