Overview

Nuclear tests have caused public concern ever since the first such test was conducted, more than six decades ago. During the Cold War, however, con- tions were not conducive to discussing a complete ban on nuclear testing. It was not until 1993 that negotiations on such a treaty finally got under way. From then on, things moved relatively quickly: in 1996, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). To date, the Treaty has been signed by 178 states and ratified by 144, though it has yet to enter into force, as nine out of 44 ‘‘Annex 2 states’’, whose ratification is mandatory, have not heeded the call. Nevertheless, the CTBT verification system is already provisionally operational and has proven its effectiveness. We commend the CTBT organisation in Vienna for its successful efforts to build a verification network. This book is an excellent overview of the evolution of the CTBT and its verification regime. The authors are eminent scholars from the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden who have been intimately involved with the CTBT and its verification agency, the CTBTO Preparatory Commission, from their inc- tion to the present day. They have written a thorough and engaging narrative of the long road that led to the CTBT. Their story will appeal to both the layman and the expert and provide useful lessons for future negotiations on disarmament issues.

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From the reviews: Drawing from their experience, the authors provide a well-structured and comprehensive view of the CTBT, from the construction of nuclear devices to the promising first results of the monitoring system of the treaty. In an impeccable edition, the chapters are clearly divided into subsections, and numerous illustrations are used to clarify the arguments in the text. G. Suarez, EOS Newsletter, Vol. 91, No. 21, p. 193 The book focuses on the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and the CTBT Organization (CTBTO) that runs the International Monitoring System (IMS) and the International Data Centre (IDC). The authors are experienced researchers with outstanding experience in seismic monitoring and who have helped to create what is now CTBTO. ! seems very important to scientists dealing with seismic- or hydroacoustic, infrasound and radionuclide monitoring ! . (Pawel Wiejacz, Pure and Applied Geophysics, Vol. 167, 2010) It is a solid reference edition concerning the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), International Nuclear Explosion Monitoring System (IMS) and Preparatory Commission of the CTBT Organization. ! the authors produced a multilayered book in which one can distinguish several conceptual layers. ! the text is supplied with a lot of photographs, maps and diagrams ! . The structure of the book is designed to make good that thesis. ! gives the reader a holistic view of the diplomatic struggle for the nuclear test ban. (Alexey Fenenko, International Trends, Vol. 8 (3), September-December, 2010)

From the reviews: Drawing from their experience, the authors provide a well-structured and comprehensive view of the CTBT, from the construction of nuclear devices to the promising first results of the monitoring system of the treaty. In an impeccable edition, the chapters are clearly divided into subsections, and numerous illustrations are used to clarify the arguments in the text. G. Suarez, EOS Newsletter, Vol. 91, No. 21, p. 193 The book focuses on the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and the CTBT Organization (CTBTO) that runs the International Monitoring System (IMS) and the International Data Centre (IDC). The authors are experienced researchers with outstanding experience in seismic monitoring and who have helped to create what is now CTBTO. ! seems very important to scientists dealing with seismic- or hydroacoustic, infrasound and radionuclide monitoring ! . (Pawel Wiejacz, Pure and Applied Geophysics, Vol. 167, 2010)

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