An Analysis of Syrian Conflict with the Lens of the Realist School of Thought
The Syrian war is rooted in the conflict between the Sunni opposition and Shia leader President Bashar, torn the country. The Syrian war took baby steps during the Arab Spring, which was supposed to bring hope and prosperity to Syria but unfortunately led to a series of horrifying protests that grew into a 9-year long civil war. The war-torn country has forced millions to escape the horrors of continuous fighting only to seek refuge in other countries with bare minimum resources. Multiple efforts by the International Organizations (I.Os) to halt the conflict between President Bashar and the opposition have repeatedly failed, and apparently, there is no hope for a peaceful solution. This paper aims to explain the Syrian war and break down the reason behind each ally's support to the chosen party and understand the Syrian conflict through the lens of Realism. The realist theory will shed some light on the root cause of international intervention by world powers and regional powers and how each actor's actions prolonged the conflict in Syria. And finally, to understand how domestic and international politics was used to carry out heinous crimes against innocent Syrian men, women, and children and analyze the strategies of actors to gain power in the region.
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Syria, Civil War, Regional Alliances, International Alliances, Sectarianism, Balance of Power
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(1) Sohail Ahmad
Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities, COMSATS University Islamabad, Pakistan.
(2) Muhammad Mubeen
Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities, COMSATS University Islamabad, Pakistan.
(3) Inayat Kalim
Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities, COMSATS University Islamabad, Pakistan.
Space Weaponization and Strategic Stability in South Asia
States are investing extensively in outer space to establish military supremacy as it is the new battleground. Space has advanced to become a crucial component of military and security operations in recent decades, posing new opportunities and difficulties for the defence and intelligence communities. However, India is also advancing its capabilities in outer space, and its efforts to militarize space will have a severe impact on Pakistan and the instability in the region. Indian militarization of outer space and pursuit of eventual weaponization will result in a needless arms race between Pakistan and India. The long-standing competition, as well as the mutual deterrence strategy between India and Pakistan, is the principal root cause of instability in South Asia. Pakistan retains the option to adopt directed energy weapons (DEWs) by deploying them in military satellites, which can be used for orbital bombardment.
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Space Weaponization, Balance of Power, Anti-Satellite Weapons, Arms Race, Outer Space
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(1) Muhammad Tehsin
Assistant Professor, Department of Defense and Strategic Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Russia's Global Strategic Rebalancing: Implications for Pakistan
Russia under Vladimir Putin’s leadership has assumed a personalised character which has drastically transformed its domestic and defence policy as well as its global grand strategy. The main contour of the grand strategy is a strategic rebalancing in the places of its influence including its near abroad and its area of interest including Asia, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. Putin’s leadership and psychological orientation have a fundamental role in the materialisation of this transformation and the study of this factor serves as a lens to explain Russia’s resurgence and also provides a guide to Russia’s future foreign policy. One of the significant aspects of the strategic rebalancing is Russia’s increasing influence in South Asia and the projects of building transport and trade corridor. While China remains another significant powerful player with similar geostrategic and geoeconomic plans; states such as Pakistan foresee great challenges as well as opportunities which emerge as a result of the increasing influence of Russia and China in the region and the lingering dissonance in Pakistan’s relations with the United States of America.
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Russia, Balance of Power, Putin, Leadership, Strategic Rebalancing, Pakistan
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(1) Ahmed Ijaz Malik
Faculty Members, School of Politics and International Relations, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
(2) Muhammad Nadeem Mirza
Faculty Members, School of Politics and International Relations, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Kashmir Crisis: A Critical Analysis of Indo-Pak Intercession
This paper explores the various intervention approaches adopted by both India and Pakistan regarding Kashmir issue. It uses the theoretical approaches of Constructivism, Realism and Balance of Power Theory. The study's objectives are divided into three categories, each entailing the Kashmir issue under the mentioned three theoretical approaches mentioned earlier. These variables are observed keeping in mind the empirical data available over the years, which define the situation of Kashmir from the time of Independence 1947 to the present scenario with regards to the Indo-Pak policies of influence under the cited theoretical prospects. As a result, the research concludes that not only Kashmir has been a humanitarian crisis where innocent people are slaughtered daily, but also a grave phenomenon for the international community who has failed to resolve it in 70 years.
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Constructivism, Realism, Balance of Power, Humanitarian Crisis
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(1) Ghulam Qumber
Deputy Director, ISSRA, National Defence University, Islamabad, Pakistan
(2) Waseem Ishaque
Assistant Professor, Department of IR, National Defence University, Islamabad, Pakistan
(3) Syed Jawad Shah
Researcher Internee, National Defence University, Islamabad, Pakistan