A clear lack of Civil-Military Cooperation is evident in the field of national cybersecurity policy. For a country such as Pakistan with fractious political, cultural, and diverse ethnic identities and ideological characteristics, an unguarded cyber domain can add to the existing rifts. In light of these challenges, Pakistan needs to create a national cybersecurity policy and strategy incorporating both civil and military concerns. The aim of this research paper is to find out a conceptual framework of Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) in the realm of cybersecurity. This study has used open-ended semistructured interviews to find out the way forward and the hindrances in civil-military cooperation to create a robust national cybersecurity regime. For an effective national cybersecurity policy, synergy has to be created between the civil and military sectors. The military should not only have the necessary cybersecurity expertise, but it should also organize cyber-drills incorporating all stakeholders.
Cyberspace is at once an area of immense cooperation and a no-holds barred arena for competition. Difficulties in creating a stable environment in cyberspace stem from differing national perceptions regarding the freedom of the Internet, application of international law and problems associated with attribution. Information space has no borders and no recognized rules of engagement or internationally accepted regulatory mechanisms. State parties, freelancers, criminals and terrorists all consider cyber operations beyond the pale of international jurisdiction. Some agreements have emerged concerning cybercrime but cyber warfare remains outside binding legal obligations. In the absence of a consensus on treaty obligations, it is a good idea to begin by constructing credible confidence building measures (CBMs) in information space between rival states. The prospects of an unintentional war as a consequence of a cyber-attack can spell disaster for South Asia. This paper discusses a range of CBMs that can be created between India and Pakistan in cyber space to control malicious cyber behavior and avert an inadvertent war. It advocates cyber cooperation instead of cyber warfare.
Ever since the establishment of the United Nations Organization (UNO), international community has resorted to peacekeeping operations to bring about peace in global conflict zones. The UN does not have a standing army and therefore it relies on troop contributions from member states for peacekeeping operations. Pakistan has been sending its troops abroad to participate in UN peacekeeping operations since 1960. The decisions to undertake such dangerous assignments are influenced inter alia by factors such as nation’s foreign policy, availability of troops, security concerns, public opinion and the sense of fulfilling international obligations. Arguably, foreign policy motivations in most cases dominate the Pakistani state’s decision to send its soldiers abroad. The underlying strategic decision making process remains the preserve of the official bureaucracy, both civilian and military. Decision making is easy for military governments; difficult in times of weak political governments and an assertive military; and long winded and chaotic when the matter is referred to the parliament. This paper promulgates Pakistan’s foreign policy motivations for providing troops for overseas deployments and reinforces the thesis that states like Pakistan lend their forces for international ventures, when they foresee clear cut strategic advantages.
The Internet has changed the world in ways hitherto unknown. The international financial system, air, land and maritime transport systems are all digitally linked. Similarly most militaries are fully or partially networked. This has not only sped up the decision making processes at all levels, it has also rendered these systems vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Cyber-warfare is now recognized as the most potent form of non-kinetic war fighting. In order to prevent large scale network-attacks, cyber-powers are simultaneously spending a lot of time, money and effort to erect redundant cyber-defenses and enhancing their offensive cyber capabilities. Difficulties in creating a stable environment in information-space stem from differing national perceptions regarding the freedom of the Internet, application of international law and problems associated with attribution. This paper discusses a range of Confidence Building Measures that can be created between India and Pakistan in information-space to control malicious cyber behavior and avert an inadvertent war.
The importance of civil military relations assumes seminal importance in ensuring the success of all phases of a counter insurgency campaign. In the true tradition of the Clausewitzian dictum that war is the continuation of policy and vice versa; Pakistan Army has been employed as a matter of policy in counter insurgency operations in the erstwhile tribal areas. They have also been used in the stabilization operations to bring about normality in the insurgency ridden areas. In fact the employment of Pakistan Army in the stabilization process defies any previous example in any other country. In all phases of the conflict cycle, the military has worked hand in glove with its civilian counterparts. The civil-military coordination (CIMIC) in the insurgency ridden areas has taken place within the framework of the established ground rules of an organized counter insurgency campaign. It would not be unfair to say that the return to normality in the erstwhile FATA has only been possible because of a well-knit CIMIC architecture. This paper briefly explicates the salient points of the CIMIC aspect of the counter and post-insurgency part of the operations in the conflict zones and highlights the importance of this aspect of dealing with insurgencies.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.