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This essay explores the complex dynamics surrounding the establishment of a nuclear weapons-free zone (NWFZ) in the Middle East. It examines the regional and international perspectives on a nuclear weapons-ban norm and the motivations behind them of some key players, including Iran, Israel, and Egypt. The essay discusses the interplay between the regional and international levels that shapes the approaches of those key players to regional security and the fundamental differences and security concerns that have prevented any change in normative practice. It then discusses the potential impact of an NWFZ on the regional balance of power. It provides an important perspective on the complex and volatile geostrategy of the Middle East and the competing interests that may affect the adoption of the nuclear weapons-ban norm in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the theoretical foundations of international security and regime theory that lay strict conditions for the creation of international regimes to explain the nature of the cyber conflict and the reasons that prevent the creation of a global regime for cybersecurity. This article analyzes the cybersecurity concerns and interests of the world's leading powers in cyberspace--China, Russia, the European Union, and the United States--based on some key cybersecurity issues in dispute, inter alia, information sovereignty, militarization of cyberspace, and their politics of cyber norms. The article suggests that the absence of a dominant hegemon in the international system, and the perception of cyberspace not only as a domain that increases vulnerabilities and threats, but also as a domain for gaining a strategic advantage, does not meet the theoretical premises for the creation of an international regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the cyber era ushers in a new reality nationally and internationally, national security is transformed aswell. We aim to theorise the several levels at which that changes unfolds. First, we explain how the unique features and characteristics of the cyber domain are different from how national security had been traditionally conceptualised. Second, we delve into how the very nature of national security changed. Third, we investigate a critical difference: the key role of companies in the cyber domain, a role that is unprecedented quantitatively or qualitatively in the physical domains. In the cyber realm, states use private companies and organisations to build the edifice of national defence. Governments use companies for a large portion of their cyberoperations and digitally-based services. With such concentration ofinformation in their hands companies serve many of the function straditionally handled by governments, even in national security, which is normally considered a public good. The case of Meta in the 2022 War in Ukraine provides a plethora of empirical evidence in addition to evidence from WannaCry, Stuxnet and SingHealth. Finally, we discuss possible future trajectories for national security as the digital domain further pervades all aspects of life, politics and international relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 1995, unsuccessful efforts to promote a Middle East weapons-of-mass-destruction-free zone (MEWMDFZ) within the review process of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) have weakened the treaty regime. This viewpoint proposes establishing a designated Middle East Support Unit to work independently from and in parallel to the NPT review process. The Support Unit will contribute to both global and regional security. Globally, its work will increase the ability to reach a consensus-based final document at the 2020 NPT Review Conference, which in turn will strengthen support for the treaty. Regionally, the Support Unit can help reinvigorate dialogue on security measures and nonproliferation in the Middle East. The possibility of resuming a direct dialogue between states in the region is of utmost importance today, as growing regional instability is a source of mutual concern to the Arab states, Iran, and Israel. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Over the past 20 years, efforts have been made to change the rules and procedures in order to strengthen the process of reviewing the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty. However, these efforts have not contributed significantly to promotion of the treaty's goals or a strengthened nonproliferation regime. Reforms implemented in the attempt to bypass what are primarily political and technical obstacles only partially facilitate a review process that is sustainable, effective, and more responsive to developments because they do not bridge the gaps between the nuclear states and the other treaty members. Thus despite the reforms, the perpetuation of the treaty's underlying inequality leaves unchanged the political, legal-normative, and economic challenges that prevent its reinforcement, thereby undermining the stability of the entire regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]