The role of Pakistan's military in the control system over nuclear programmes

• Main Author: Reichental, Nir
• Published: University of Cambridge 2012
• Subjects: 320
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.610741

The prime objective of this thesis is to offer a conceptual explanation for Pakistan’s providing aid to other countries with their nuclear programmes. It focuses on an analysis Pakistan’s structure of control over its nuclear organisations from three perspectives: a) the influence of the organisational culture of Pakistan’s state apparatus on its control system; b) the strategic environment of the national security policies; and c) the links between the different entities in the control system and the state apparatus. The aim of the thesis is to provide a broader context for the understanding of Pakistani sponsored nuclear proliferation by an analysis of the institutional structure that has thought to control Pakistan’s nuclear agencies. This will demonstrate the likelihood that Pakistan’s proliferation activity has been a by product of organisational culture and the nature of its control system. The methodology will be based on five approaches:- 1) An examination of the evolution of the Pakistani control system and its historical procedures (as it stands until 2004). 2) Scrutinising the operation of the system as part of Pakistan’s defence establishment. 3) Comparing the connections of the control system with AQ Khan’s proliferation network and the connections of the defence establishment with militant organisations. 4) Defining Pakistan’s control system and appraising it on a comparative basis. 5) Evaluating similarities between Pakistan’s and China’s control systems as two nuclear weapons countries with influential militaries. The hypothesis of this thesis is the argument that much of the nuclear aid offered by Pakistan to other countries was probably approved of and perhaps, at times, suggested by elements within the Pakistani Army. Thus, Pakistan’s military will be the main state organisation under analysis in this thesis. Underscoring the role of the military in the control system is likely to improve the understanding of the character of nuclear proliferation from Pakistan as a state initiative.