The United Stateswill participate in amultilateral agreement only under the condition that theirmain industrial interests are secured or, to put it in otherwords, when the balance of pros and cons tilts on its side.

Imène Ajala is a Ph.D. student in political science at Institut universitaire des hautes études internationales et du développement (IUHEID) in Geneva.

Urs Luterbacher teaches international politics at IUHEID in Geneva. His research focuses on dynamic arms race models, general theory of conflict, and cooperation and conflicts related to global environmental change. He recently published, with Detlef F. Sprinz, International Relations and Global Climate Change (Cambridge [MA], MIT Press, 2001).

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