Covers the significant persons, places, agencies, organizations, conferences, conventions, treaties, and acts that have influenced arms control and disarmament from the beginnings of recorded western history to present times. The introductory essay reviews where arms control has come from and where it is heading during this period of global transition, as well as how the definitions of the terms and the conduct of the field have developed, and why arms control and disarmament remain both very much alive and relevant, today and into the future. A list of acronyms and abbreviations, a chronology, and a comprehensive bibliography complement the dictionary entries of this unique reference.