Rethinking Confidence-Building Measures (Adelphi Papers)

In Rethinking Confidence-Building Measures, Marie-France Desjardins warns against the uncritical pursuit of CBMs--often seen as the fastest growing sector on the post-Cold War diplomatic agenda--and argues that the idea has been oversold. She asserts that obstacles to meaningful agreements are much more important than usually acknowledged, and that political and military ramifications have been generally ignored. She concludes that the same effort, painstaking negotiation, and possibilities for failure are inherent in CBMs as in the wide array of other potential solutions for managing interstate security relations, but with far fewer substantial results.