Lynne Rienner Bioterrorism: Confronting a Complex Threat

Especially since the anthrax attacks of 2001, the issue of bioterrorism has been controversial: Are governments underestimating the potential hazard of biological toxins, as some claim, or is the danger in fact exaggerated? What are the policy options for dealing with such a complex threat? The authors of this book offer a reasoned assessment of the issues at the core of the debates. Identifying a high level of uncertainty as a key characteristic of the bioterrorism threat, the authors examine the legacies of the secret state biowarfare programs of the previous century, analyze academic and political controversies about current dangers, and consider the impact of rapid scientific and technological change on the development of future threats. In the process, they provide new insight into the broader question of risk management and the role of public and private actors in international security relations.