Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Israel's activities in the Arms Control (AC) and Disarmament field can be roughly divided into two periods. In the first period, from 1963 to the 1980s, Israel's policy was characterized by alienation and deep suspicion regarding any initiative targeted at limiting the spread of certain weapons or their control. A change in this attitude first became apparent following Israel?s 1981 strike against Iraq?s Osirak nuclear reactor due to the need to repel harsh international criticism. Yet, total transformation of Israeli policy would have to wait another decade. During the 1991 Madrid Conference, the ACRS working group intensified awareness of the significance of AC and Disarmament. By then, Israel's political leadership had fully recognized the need to integrate AC regimes and to clearly present Israel's stance in international forums.Israel's policy consequently shifted from alienation and passivity to activism on the conceptual and technical level. Israel has, however, become a global key player for two additional reasons: (a) Obstruction capabilities ?the putative capabilities of this ?6th nuclear power? in all realms of armament, arms production and supply to the global market give Israel the power to render almost any treaty ineffective; and (b) The Middle East linkage approach ? Although dyadic situations where one state's adherence to an AC arrangement is conditional on the adherence of another are quite common, in the case of Israel, one state?s adherence could become (or is) a necessary condition for the adherence of several other states to the same treaty. The official Arab's stance regarding the CWC is, of course, a pristine example to this.Notwithstanding Israel's growing importance in this area and as opposed to the extensive literature focusing on its policy of nuclear opacity, a marked lacuna can be observed in the literature regarding Israel's policy in other arenas of AC and Disarmament. Moreover, even regarding its policy in the nuclear filed, the recent developments regarding Iran raise the question: what would be the implications if Iran got the bomb? Hence, the research goals are twofold. In the first stage, we shall map and analyze Israel?s AC steps in general. In the second stage, we shall trace possible implications of a nuclear Iran as well as Arab perceptions on these issues and, based on our findings, propose some feasible alternatives to mitigate the current predicament. Despite Israel?s continuous stance on the NPT issue, the regional developments ? primarily those concerning Iran and Iraq, may offer Israel and its neighbors new opportunities to resolve the current various deadlocks.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This study re-examines the effects of state’s arms acquisition from major powers on its likelihood of internal armed conflict in the post-colonial world form 1956 through 1998. Focusing on civil and ethnic wars, respectively, as internal armed conflict, this inquiry explores the different effects of arms on civil and ethnic war onset, by utilizing a multiple regression analysis with Peace Year Approach. This study discovers that state arms acquisition from major powers have statistically significant effect on neither civil nor ethnic war onset, considering political, economic, demographic and geographic factors. Further, the results demonstrate that there are some different causal mechanisms between the onset of civil and ethnic wars.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: In 2001 the ?Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons was being negotiated at the United Nations. Although only politically binding, the majority of the international community lived up to the created norms and has started to implement the recommendation of the Programme of Action globally, regionally and nationally. Among the most disputed issues the question of transfer to non-state actors and domestic gun control remain on the agenda. While the majority of states are in favour of creating norms, the United States still oppose it. The concept of hegemony is a complex one and can be best approached through the lense of different theories of international relations. While the norm of non-state transfers can be explained as hegemonic attitude at the unitary state level (eg. through a rational-choice approach), the resistance against domestic gun control is connected to the level of identity. A constructivist interpretation of hegemony helps to understand the causes and background of US attitudes towards the gun control issue.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Despite the growing policy demands, little attention is devoted to systematic investigation of the role of arms in internal armed conflict and mass killing. In order to fill the research gap, this paper presents a basis for policy evaluation and further research. Employing publicly available data on arms acquisitions, internal armed conflicts, and mass killings, we explore the pattern of the relationship among arms, internal armed conflicts, and mass killings in 100 post-colonial states between 1956 and 1998. Our study shows that arms acquisition and intensity of internal armed conflicts are positively associated with mass killing involvement, while the effects of each factor on mass killing are not identical. Considering the combination of arms acquisition with intensity of internal armed conflicts, our investigation discovers that there are complex patterns of the occurrence of intentional mass killings by governments.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Israel's activities in the Arms Control (AC) and Disarmament field can be roughly divided into two periods. In the first period, from 1963 to the 1980s, Israel's policy was characterized by alienation and deep suspicion regarding any initiative targeted at limiting the spread of certain weapons or their control. A change in this attitude first became apparent following Israel?s 1981 strike against Iraq?s Osirak nuclear reactor due to the need to repel harsh international criticism. Yet, total transformation of Israeli policy would have to wait another decade. During the 1991 Madrid Conference, the ACRS working group intensified awareness of the significance of AC and Disarmament. By then, Israel's political leadership had fully recognized the need to integrate AC regimes and to clearly present Israel's stance in international forums.Israel's policy consequently shifted from alienation and passivity to activism on the conceptual and technical level. Israel has, however, become a global key player for two additional reasons: (a) Obstruction capabilities ?the putative capabilities of this ?6th nuclear power? in all realms of armament, arms production and supply to the global market give Israel the power to render almost any treaty ineffective; and (b) The Middle East linkage approach ? Although dyadic situations where one state's adherence to an AC arrangement is conditional on the adherence of another are quite common, in the case of Israel, one state?s adherence could become (or is) a necessary condition for the adherence of several other states to the same treaty. The official Arab's stance regarding the CWC is, of course, a pristine example to this.Notwithstanding Israel's growing importance in this area and as opposed to the extensive literature focusing on its policy of nuclear opacity, a marked lacuna can be observed in the literature regarding Israel's policy in other arenas of AC and Disarmament. Hence, the research goals are twofold. In the first stage, we are in the process of mapping and analyzing Israel?s AC steps in general while stressing those areas that have been neglected in the literature. In the second stage, we shall trace Arab perceptions on these issues and, based on our findings, propose some feasible alternatives to mitigate the current predicament. Despite Israel?s continuous stance on the NPT issue, regional developments ? primarily the US occupation of Iraq offer Israel and its neighbors new opportunities to resolve the current various deadlocks. The real question is, therefore, will Israel take advantage of those opportunities? The research is attempting to propose at least tentative answers to this question.