Ballistic Missile Proliferation: The Politics and Technics (Sipri Monographs) Review

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(More customer reviews)Mr. Karp's book is a useful primer on key technologies a country must master in order to successfully develop a ballisitc missile. It also contains a wealth of historical anecdotes on the pratfalls and successes of past missile programs from around the world. It is less helpful in its discussions of ballistic missile proliferation politics.
The book is basically divided into three major sections, or themes. The first section, on the politics and driving factors of ballistic missile proliferation, is the weakest section of the book. Many of the author's conclusions seem quite dated and stand in sharp contrast to the findings of several major congressional commissions (e.g., the Deutch report, the Rumsfeld Commission Report, etc.). In this section, Mr. Karp poses the questions "Can missile proliferation be stopped?" and "Does missile proliferation matter?". While he provides an excellent historical discussion, he fails to properly consider the impact that improvements in technology - particularly GPS-aided guidance - have had on proliferation since his book was first written.
The second major section concerns key technologies required for developing a ballistic missile. It is here that the book shines. Mr. Karp breaks the technologies down into what he calls 'soft' and 'hard' technologies. Soft technologies include design criteria, personnel factors, organizational skills, and finance issues. This is one of the few texts that delves into these issues and the author makes a strong case for why these technologies are critical. Hard technologies include propulsion, guidance, re-entry vehicles, stage separation, and flight testing. This book is not a detailed technical work, so if you are looking for a how-to book you'll need to shop elsewhere. However, the author does a very good job providing an overview of each of these areas and providing a wealth of historical anecdotes to illustrate their importance. He also does a very good job of discussing which of these technologies are most prone for proliferation controls and why. My only major criticism of this section is that while GPS is mentioned, it is treated as of minor importance or potential. Clearly current and emerging missile designs would strongly suggest that GPS will have a far larger impact that the book would lead you to believe.
The final section provides a reasonable overview of warhead choices. Considerable attentionis given to chemical, biological, and nuclear warheads. The author does a good job of describing the advantages and disadvantages of each option. Again, this is an overview work not an in-depth technical textbook.
For the student, junior intelligence analyst, or novice decision-maker looking for information on ballistic missile technologies this is a useful primer. The first section is of less value, however if the author updates the book in light of more recent developments, it could prove to be far better.

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This book addresses the current concern that ballistic missile technologies are spreading throughout the world. It examines the missile and missile-armament programs and technologies, and the ability of countries to acquire such technologies. The concluding chapter investigates international efforts to control ballistic missile proliferation.