Aqeel Ahmad

  Why does Pakistan need to focus on it security and deterrence? States live in an anarchical world where no higher authority exists. All states have to prosper through self-help to make sure they survive. Nuclear weapons, with potential lethality, can be used for balancing the potential destruction against rival states. Considering the security model, one can argue that Pakistan started its nuclear program for its security purposes. Nuclear weapons are the weapons of deterrence by creating fear in the mind of the adversary potentially preventing full-scale wars. Countries that build nuclear weapons, build these, to ensure their relative security and survival. Only nine countries have developed nuclear weapons (since South Africa dismantled its nuclear program). Kenneth Waltz, in his book  Theory of International Politics , argues that nuclear power states are concerned with maintaining their position within the international system. States work harder to increase their streng...

Objectives:  1. To understand the intellectual background of the French Revolution of 1789.  2. To study the philosophical views of various French philosophers, especially those related to the state and society.  3. To review the contribution of the Encyclopedists and Physiocrats to the understanding of the conditions prior to the French Revolution of 1789. 2.1.  Introduction:  In addition to the economic and social difficulties, the Ancient Regime was undermined intellectually by the apostles of the Enlightenment. The philosophers were extremely critical of the Ancient Regime. In their writings, the French philosophers discredited the old order and generated optimism about the future. The philosophers introduced ideas such as constitutional monarchy, republicanism, popular sovereignty, and social equality and influenced the course of the Revolution. Voltaire attacked the church and absolutism; Montesquieu made English constitutionalism fashionable ...

 Objectives:  1. To understand the nature of the Ancient Regime that existed in France on the eve of the French Revolution of 1789.   2. To have an insight into the political, social and economic conditions in France which ultimately led to the Revolution of 1789 .  1.1. Introduction Towards the end of the eighteenth century, an uprising staged by the French people against the autocracy and aristocracy, which came to be known as the French Revolution, shook Europe. The French Revolution brought about a major transformation of the society and political system in France that lasted from 1789 to 1799. During the course of the Revolution, France was temporarily transformed from an absolute monarchy, where the king monopolized power, to a republic of theoretically free and equal citizens. The effects of the French Revolution were widespread, both inside and outside of France, and the Revolution ranks as one of the most important events in the history of ...

  By   Aqeel Ahmad Depending on whom you talk to in the defense and national policy circles, hypersonic weapons are “ super-duper ” missiles ready to transform combat since they are difficult to defend against.    Others argue that they are simply the latest in a long series of  overhyped weapons  systems and that they are relatively easy to defend against since they fly slower as they approach their target than ballistic missiles with comparable ranges. Some argue that hypersonic weapons would boost  conventional deterrence  by leveling the playing ground with enemies that are developing and deploying hypersonic weapons. Others say that they would increase tensions between nuclear-armed state s  by heightening concerns of a disarming assault and stoking a risky weapons race.   What is a hypersonic weapon?  They are so fast that their speed may alter the molecules of the surrounding air. They can deliver a nuclear bomb, fly at low a...

                      Marwa Fida: The writer is a Second-year student and a rising intellectual. According to realists, we should be ready as the world will be facing hard times in the upcoming fifty years. Climate changes have significant implications for present lives, future generations, and for ecosystems on which humanity depends. Consequently, climate change has been and continues to be the subject of intensive scientific research and public debate. The scientific community has observed it by measuring the temperature that is rapidly exceeding annually. As the atmosphere gets hotter every year, the climate will drastically change.  There is strong evidence that the warming of the Earth over the last half-century has been caused largely by human activity, such as the burning of fossil fuels and changes in land use, including agriculture and deforestation. The size of future temperature increases and other aspects of climat...