CCR vol.10 no.

3 - Chemical and Biological Warfare

Track Two

Vol.10 No.3

December 2001

The SIPRI/VUB/ISN Internet Educational Module on Chemical

and Biological Weapons Non-proliferation
by Jean Pascal Zanders and Kurt Laforce
Use and copyright information
The Educational Module on Chemical and Biological Weapons Non-proliferation will be fully available
in 2002. At present, sections of the Module are available online at http://poli.vub.ac.be/cbw or
http://cbw.sipri.se
The module is accessible at no cost from the VUB and SIPRI websites. The widest possible
distribution and use of the module are encouraged on condition that user access is cost-free under all
circumstances. Should the authors become aware of commercial exploitation of their work, they will
exercise their copyright control and either deny further use or charge the user for continued use (while
retaining the free access principle elsewhere). There is also a CD-ROM version, which may be
reproduced freely under the same conditions.
Permission to use the module in academic curricula, courses or other educational settings is usually
granted following a simple request to SIPRI, VUB or ISN. (See the opening page of the module for
the relevant e-mail addresses.)

About the SIPRI/VUB/ISN Internet Educational Module on Chemical and Biological

Weapons Non-proliferation
In November 1997 the Chemical and Biological Warfare Project of the Stockholm International Peace
Research Institute (SIPRI) and the Centre for Peace and Security Studies of the Vrije Universiteit
Brussel (Free University of Brussels, VUB) piloted an Internet-based educational module on the nonproliferation of chemical and biological weapons. The project received financial support from the
International Relations and Security Network (ISN) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.
The module is aimed at professionals interested in chemical and biological weapons proliferation
issues to improve their work-related knowledge and therefore does not target the general public. The
target audience includes policy-makers and shapers (such as politicians and the media), diplomats,
senior military personnel, researchers and students in international relations. Those with basic general
knowledge about arms control and disarmament and who require information quickly will find this an
extremely valuable educational and work-related resource.

Influencing policy-making
Spreading knowledge about chemical and biological weapons armament dynamics, non-proliferation
and disarmament is one strategy to stimulate advanced and qualified thinking about policy
alternatives. Increasingly, new information and communication technologies, such as educational
modules, are being viewed as expert systems. In this case, the Internet-based chemical and biological
weapons education module has a knowledge base equivalent to that of an expert and tries to
generate insights into the complex dynamics of chemical and biological weapons armament, nonproliferation and disarmament. As an expert system, it aims to introduce decision-makers (current
and future) and those involved in arms control to various policy strategies by providing background
information and updated knowledge. This could contribute to minimising policy makers feelings of
uncertainty when viewing policy options relating to arms control, thus capacitating them to make higher
quality decisions.

Goals
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CCR vol.10 no.3 - Chemical and Biological Warfare

Three key goals inform the module, which in turn influence its educational strategy and design:
It is likely that the module users will eventually participate in the decision-making process or social
debate regarding chemical and biological weapons arms control and disarmament; in this regard the
module will provide education, knowledge and information based on sound research to influence this
process;
The user will actively participate in the learning process;
The module will be used as a reference base (e.g. for documents and treaties) or as a tool in formal
teaching environments.

Educational strategy and design

The module was conceived as an explorative learning environment in which the user has the greatest
possible degree of freedom to explore and actively participate in the educational process, while having
a clear idea of his or her learning goals. Its educational strategy is based on the view that learning is
a constructive effort and knowledge is foremost socially constructed. Hypermedia technology is ideal
to support constructivist learning environments. Hyperlinking information has the advantage of
circumventing conventional pre-arranged linear formatting of information (such as in textbooks) and is
able to reflect the human thought process more accurately. By following the hypermedia links in a
sequence unique to his or her individual understanding and thought processes, users take charge of
the construction and the testing of their own knowledge.
The design has the following additional advantages:
Because the primary target audience must absorb information under considerable time pressure, the
pillars are designed in such a way that this audience can acquire the required knowledge within a
relatively short time span without external assistance. As a result, the texts in a pillar are split into
need-to-know and nice-to-know information loops. A need-to-know loop contains texts needed by
the user to achieve primary learning goals (i.e., enabling movement to the next level of complexity). A
nice-to-know loop contains additional background information or information on the theories
informing the analytical framework in the text.
A number of users are likely to be non-native speakers of English. The texts are therefore
constructed to increase the technical understanding of chemical and biological weapons armament,
non-proliferation and disarmament, and also expand the users vocabulary and understanding of key
concepts. The glossary with its brief definitions and explanations is the main help tool. In addition,
some texts with more detailed explanations of terms, treaties or issues have been unobtrusively
integrated into the basic level of the module in order to prevent users from becoming discouraged by
the complexity of the subject matter.
Data is broken up into easy-to-use information units of less than one printed page, with an absolute
maximum of one and a half pages, to minimise scrolling down a screen.
As a result of the constructivist educational approach used, each text is written as a self-contained
information unit. The design is such that the user always has the freedom to choose between several
routes. The links in the introductory and concluding sections of a text give a sense of the general
direction towards achieving a learning goal.

Contents of the module

The module provides introductory, intermediate and advanced levels of information on chemical and
biological weapons armament, disarmament and non-proliferation. There is also a glossary with basic
descriptions and definitions of terms, organizations and treaties, and appended texts of documents
referred to, which can be accessed via hyperlinks in the text or glossary.
Each level comprises several issue areas or pillars containing texts and graphics connected to each
other via hyperlinks. Portals enable users to move between pillars.
A self-evaluation function for users to assess their progress in working through the module is also
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CCR vol.10 no.3 - Chemical and Biological Warfare

The interface
The primary navigation button returns the user to the entry point of each level and gives access to the
site map, help function and glossary. Each level can be used in various ways via colour-coded
hyperlinks: blue links lead to other texts; green ones to the glossary. The user can explore a pillar via
different routes with blue text links presenting the information in a non-linear format. A smaller
navigation button in the top right corner takes the user up one level and leads back to the opening
page. Backward and forward arrows on either side of the navigation button allow for reading of the
texts in sequential order, as with a book, should the user so desire.
Chemy, a bright yellow gas mask cartoon character occasionally provides the user with background
information about the learning goals, explains the options, recommends related topics in the module,
or leads the user to the help functions.

The basic level

The basic level introduces chemical and biological weapons armament, proliferation, disarmament and
non-proliferation and explains basic concepts. Armament focuses on proliferation from the basis of
demand by political actors, such as states, sub-national groups or terrorist organizations, who seek
chemical and biological weapons and examines the political, material and doctrinal factors that
promote chemical and biological weapons armament. The text dispels the idea that proliferation is
inevitable. The difficulties and shortcomings of disarmament and non-proliferation policies in dealing
with a proliferator are also dealt with.
The 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) and the 1993 Chemical Weapons
Convention (CWC) are presented. Case studies of chemical and biological weapons in Iraq and CW in
Libya and the former USSR are presented. Issues, such as pre- or semi-industrialized countries
requirements to acquire the scientific, technological and manufacturing capability for a large CW
programme are focused on. While each case study is a self-contained information unit, texts are
thematically organized to give the user theoretical explanations and provide basic knowledge needed
for the higher levels of the module.

The intermediate level

Three new pillars on armament-disarmament, armament-non-proliferation, and disarmament-nonproliferation raise awareness of the impact of these issues on policy outcomes. They are discussed
within the framework of international relations theory, particularly gains theory. The armamentdisarmament pillar shows how domestic processes (in this case armament) are influenced by and
influence the international environment. The conditions needed to create co-operative international
security via arms control and disarmament with regard to BTWC and CWC are explored. The pillar on
armament-non-proliferation explores how non-proliferation measures by supplier countries impact on
armament of a country seeking weapon technology abroad. It analyses the consequences of
armament and non-proliferation policies on the international environment. The third pillar contrasts
disarmament and non-proliferation policies, discussing different means of halting or reversing
armament, particularly with regard to the effect on the international security environment.
The intermediate levels design allows users not primarily concerned with policy options to obtain this
information without having to bother with the theoretical foundations. Academics and students, on the
other hand, can enter the intermediate level via the theoretical portal and take the discussions of
armament, disarmament and non-proliferation as practical illustrations.

The advanced level

At the heart of the advanced level are scenario analyses based on variations of the interactions in the
intermediate level. The aim is not to offer the user a comprehensive overview of all possible policy
outcomes, but to provide a realistic impression of the results or consequences of certain policy
options. The module demonstrates how the execution of certain policies may be constrained by
factors beyond the control of the policy-maker.
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CCR vol.10 no.3 - Chemical and Biological Warfare

Dr. Jean Pascal Zanders is head of the SIPRI Chemical and Biological Warfare Project. Kurt Laforce
is researcher at the Centre for Peace and Security Studies of the Free University of Brussels and is
preparing a doctoral dissertation on the effectiveness of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. This is a
version of an article printed in Disarmament Forum, the quarterly journal of the United Nations
Institute for Disarmament Research, No. 3, 2001, pp. 27-37. For more information about UNIDIR,
please consult www.unorg.ch/unidir

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