\ -y- \ manufactured atomic weapons could put itself in a position to exert its will over all those who kept their pledge. The more states observed the agreement, the greater the reward to the trans¢gressor. The second dilemma arises out of the time element in the carrying on of atomic warfare. On the one hand, since no state by its own strength can be sure of staving off a bomb attack, there is a growing conviction that effective conrérol of atomic warfare must come through international action. On the other hand, the speed of attack by bombs can be so great that there would not appear at first: sight to be sufficient time for any mechanism of international collective action to operate successfully. Before the air age, one could have counted on a fairly long period of grace between the time when an aggressorts “ intentions became evident and the time when he could’att ack in full force. The development of air bombardment shortened this peridd.consitierably, and the coming of atomic warfare promises to reduce it almost to zero. If a nation suddenly threatened by atomic bomb attack has to wait while an international agency arrives at a decision as to what counter measures should be taken, the chances of saving its cities would seem to be very small indeed. Both of these dilemmas are directly concerned with the procedures whereby nations arrive at means of regulating their actions with respect.to each other. Both of them receive attention in the chapters that follow. At the present time it is only necessary to make some very general observations about the treaty mechanism and the kinds of strains it might be expected to bear when put to the task of controlling atomic warfare. Current popular beliefs regarding the efficacy of treaties are prone to be both too optimistic and too pessimistic as to what can be accomplished by them. On the one hand, there is a tendency to believe that practically any international problen can be solved if only the nations concerned can be cajoled into Signing a treaty. on the other hand, the spectacular failures of some treaties in the past have led to the widespread conviction that governments in general are very