Controls on the export of military and dual-use items were fundamental to international efforts to constrain Soviet military capabilities during the Cold War. While essential to combating the proliferation of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, these controls also impose severe costs on national economies. Also, conflicts over export control policies often mar relations between the executive and legislative branches of government as well as between the United States and other countries. Reluctant Champions explores how and why the United States came to adopt its export policies by examining the administrations of four presidents: Truman, Eisenhower, Bush, and Clinton. Relevant and timely in light of recent U.S. sanctions on Russian nuclear insitutions Solidly researched Includes personal interviews with officials from Bush and Clinton administrations

Introduction; The United States and Export Controls; One domestic politics and export controls Presidents, Political Entrepreneurs, and Prohibition Norms; Two dual-use export controls in historical perspective; Three the truman administration Politics Doesn't Stop at the Water's Edge; Four the eisenhower administration "Damned Silly Practices"; Five the bush administration A New World Order; Six the clinton administration It's the Economy, Stupid; Seven conclusion Reluctant Champions

Richard T. Cupitt is Associate Director at the Center for International Trade and Security at the University of Georgia. He is also the Center's liaison to Washington, D.C. His books include U.S. and Japanese NonproliferationExport Controls (1996) and International Cooperation onNonproliferation Export Controls (1994).