International Inspection: From Proposals to Realization

A proposal for an international inspectorate lies at the heart of every contemporary plan for armament control. Alternatives to the increasing perils of the unprecedented arms race of our era are made dependent on the development of a reasonably effective method of monitoring treaty compliance. Reduction of tension through control of weapons can be attempted only by the creation of a type of political instrument with which the world has had little previous experience. The achievement of a system of inspection, when viewed in the perspective of the history of international organization, is a task of political and administrative architecture on an unprecedented scale. Even the more modest proposals envisage staff and budgetary resources comparable, if not greater, in size than those of the present UN. More significantly, these plans imply an extension of international authority within national borders. Therefore, if arms control should become a viable instrument of international diplomacy, a rapid development of international political, judicial, and administrative techniques will be required.