http://localhost:80/xmlui/handle/123456789/599 2026-02-25T12:40:23Z http://localhost:80/xmlui/handle/123456789/12206 Title: Stabilizing Disarray in the Muslim World: Turkey and the European Union Authors: Mirza, Muhammad Nadeem; Qaisrani, Irfan Hasnain; Ali, Lubna Abid Abstract: This study focuses on the growth of transnational forces and increased global interdependence in the Post-Cold War period, posing serious challenges to conservative regimes in the Middle East – manifested by popular uprisings for economic and political change, beginning 2010 in Tunisia. Since then the Arab states of Middle East are in turmoil. The situation has become complex due to the presence of Al-Qaeda network and ISIS (‘Islamic’ State of Iraq and Syria) radicals in the Middle East and Mediterranean region. Such non state extremists groups are a collective threat to future Europe also. On the other hand various countries of the Middle East and gulf region, have been engaged in waging the proxy wars against each other in order to achieve their specific objectives. Geographically, historically and politically Turkey has been a bridge between Middle East and Europe. The underlying assumption of this study establishes Turkey’s matured foreign policy not only as a model for struggling states of the Muslim World but holds keys to emerging threats to Europe. The study explores possibilities of Turkey to be central player not only for the resolution of regional issues but also as an active player at the global level. 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z http://localhost:80/xmlui/handle/123456789/12205 Title: The Role of leadership and idiosyncracy in US foreign policy towards Pakistan,' Journal of Contemporary Studies Authors: Mirza, Muhammad Nadeem Abstract: How does leadership in the United States specifically affect its foreign policy decision-making towards Pakistan? Using the poliheuristic theory of decision-making, this paper explores how idiosyncratic factors such as leaders’ perceptions, past experiences, and ideological orientations – along with the dynamic geopolitical environment of the world – affect the US foreign policy making process. It argues that the role of leadership increases when issues involve high-risk situations – for example after the 9/11 attacks, President Bush was autonomous ‘enough’ to devise the national security strategy vis-à-vis Pakistan. In a lowrisk situation the role of leadership is either constrained by different actors, or the leadership utilizes the same actors such as the US Congress as leverage against Pakistan to entice or force it to bring its policy in line with the US national interests as perceived by the decision-makers 2018-12-01T00:00:00Z http://localhost:80/xmlui/handle/123456789/12204 Title: Mapping Contours of Reconciliation and Peace Process in Afghanistan: Policy Options for Pakistan Authors: Mirza, Muhammad Nadeem; Abbas, Hussain; Baneen, Ummul Abstract: Afghan war has long been considered as a strategic failure, as the US could neither bring an end to the violence, nor ensure complete territorial control. Deteriorating security situation has also endangered stability of adjoining states. With the failure of military means to resolve Afghan crisis, the need for a political solution gained momentum resulting in the US-Taliban agreement in early 2020. This study traces out why, despite various rounds of talks and initiatives of reconciliation and peace process, the successful stability could not be achieved in Afghanistan. The study concluded that all the stake-holders continued to pursue unrealistic objectives, resulting in failure of the previous efforts of peace talks. 2020-06-30T00:00:00Z http://localhost:80/xmlui/handle/123456789/12203 Title: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: A Revolution in the Making Authors: Mirza, Muhammad Nadeem; Qaisrani, Irfan Hasnain; Ali, Lubna Abid; Naqvi, Ahmad Ali Abstract: Since the flight of a kite by some Chinese, thousands of years ago, the UAVs have developed to the level of unleashing immeasurable destruction even without endangering the life of the „man in the loop‟. This paper traces the history of the drones in the modern times while focusing on the American utilization of the UAVs in the wars of the twenty-first century. Drones basically address the „friction‟ element of the war. While analyzing the technical aspects of the UAVs, the article assesses the revolution these have brought in the conduct of the warfare. There are issues of collateral damage being labeled against the use of UAVs, but there is no denying the fact that these are the best weapons available in the arsenal to minimize the number of civilian casualties – as compared with the manned aircrafts and the casualties caused by the missiles fired from the aircraft carriers at times stationed hundreds of miles away. Pilotless target aircraft (PTA), Reconnaissance UAVs, and Strike UAVs or UCAVs are the three main types of Drones according to their function. The advantages of the UAVs over the manned aircrafts are the performance of dull, dirty, and dangerous work, their development and use being economical, their tactical advantage of not endangering the life of the controller, and most recently their use in the civilian arena like the flood relief activities, monitoring of the borders, reconnaissance of the areas after accidents or natural disasters, etc. Biggest challenges in the development of the drones are enhancing the endurance and autonomy of the UAVs, in-flight refueling, increasing the payload capacity, having less numbers of satellites, and most importantly the issues related with the international law and the attached ethical issues. With the successful tests of Burraq, Pakistan has also joined the club of the states developing the UAVs and the race is still „on‟. 2016-12-01T00:00:00Z