Pakistan and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Regime

The arrival of nuclear weapons was detrimental in changing the nature of warfare; duringWWII, we used nuclear weapons on two Japanese cities. The catastrophic effect of nuclear weapons made the pioneers apprehensive about the spread of nuclear technology across the globe. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Regime (NNPR) is a set of international rules, norms, initiatives, agreements, arrangements, bilateral and multilateral treaties to curb the spread of nuclear weapons and technology. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is the backbone of NNPR. This paper discusses the significance of NNPR and will focus on how Pakistan fits into the bigger picture of the NNPR as a nuclear state. This research study will further analyze the prospects and challenges for Pakistan viz a viz the NNPR. It will specifically focus on Pakistan's official position on joining the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT), and the two relevant Export Control Regimes (Nuclear Suppliers Group and Missile Technology Control Regime). Moreover, the challenges Pakistan faces viz-a-viz these treaties and arrangements will be highlighted. Recommendations will be provided based on the prospects of how Pakistan can overcome these challenges.

Hysteresis Compensation for a Piezoelectric Actuator of Active Helicopter Rotor Using Compound Control

Active rotor with trailing-edge flaps is a promising method to alleviate vibrations and noise level of helicopters. Hysteresis of the piezoelectric actuators used to drive the flaps can degrade the performance of an active rotor. In this study, bench-top tests are conducted to measure the nonlinear hysteresis of a double-acting piezoelectric actuator. Based on the experimental data, a rate-dependent hysteresis model is established by combining a Bouc–Wen model and a transfer function of a second order system. Good agreement is exhibited between the model outputs and the measured results for different frequencies. A compound control regime composed of a feedforward compensator and PID (Proportional–Integral–Derivative) feedback control is developed to suppress the hysteresis of this actuator. Bench-top test results demonstrate that this compound control regime is capable to suppress hysteresis at different frequencies from 10 Hz to 60 Hz, and errors between the desired actuator outputs and the measured outputs are reduced dramatically at different frequencies, revealing that this compound control regime has the potential to be implemented in an active helicopter rotor to suppress actuator hysteresis.

Strong experimental support for the hologenome hypothesis revealed from Drosophila melanogaster selection lines

Recently it has been proposed, that the holobiont, i.e., the host and its associated microbiome, constitute a distinct biological entity, on which selection operates. This is a fascinating idea that so far has limited empirical justification. Here Drosophila melanogaster lines from a large-scale artificial selection experiment, where we selected for stress resistance traits and for longevity, were used to test the hologenome hypothesis. We raised flies from all selection regimes, including a regime where flies were kept at benign standard laboratory condition (control regime) throughout the duration of the experiment, under common garden conditions and sequenced the microbiome of the flies. We found abundant differences in microbial communities between control and selection regimes, but not between replicate lines within the regimes, and microbial diversity was higher in selected relative to control lines. Several major core Drosophila bacterial species were differentially abundant in the different selection regimes despite flies being exposed to similar nutritional and general environmental conditions. Our results support the idea that the host and microbiome genomes have evolved in concert and provide experimental support for the hologenome theory of evolution.

Bordering Through Exemption: Extracontinental Migration Flows in Mexico

This paper examines Mexico’s governmentality of extracontinental migration in transit to the United States. It argues that, in the context of transit control regimes, exemption is instrumentalised as a bordering mechanism and practice in which transit states assume, react and utilise their role as a ‘transit’ country. By drawing on statistical information about migrant populations from Asia and Africa intercepted by Mexican authorities from 2010 to 2019, four arrangements are identified: (1) sporadic expulsion, (2) regularisation façade, (3) guardianship and (4) self-deportation. The analysis sheds light on the transformative and adaptive dimension of the Mexican Transit Control Regime and how this is geared towards maintaining its focus on intercepting and deterring Central American migrants in transit to the United States.

Brakeman or booster? Presidents, ideological polarization, reciprocity, and the politics of US arms control

US arms control policies have shifted frequently in the last 60 years, ranging from the role of a ‘brakeman’ regarding international arms control, to the role of a ‘booster,’ initiating new agreements. My article analyzes the conditions that contribute to this mixed pattern. A crisp-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) evaluates 24 cases of US decisions on international arms control treaties (1963–2021). The analysis reveals that the strength of conservative treaty skeptics in the Senate, in conjunction with other factors, has contributed to the demise of arms control policies since the end of the Cold War. A brief study of the Trump administration’s arms control policies provides case-sensitive insights to corroborate the conditions identified by the QCA. The findings suggest that conservative treaty skeptics contested the bipartisan consensus and thus impaired the ability of the USA to perform its leadership role within the international arms control regime.

Against Unjust Laws

In Myanmar, the Citizenship Law of 1982 made the Rohingya “stateless.” The Rohingya consider Bangladesh a haven and take to the sea on rickety boats to cross borders. If they do, however, they become “illegal migrants.” Considering such laws unjust, local and international NGOs have been leading struggles to uphold the Rohingyas’ rights in Bangladesh. This article registers the struggles of these organizations against the production of illegality and statelessness. It discusses how they contest and negotiate the thick mix of politics, the local labor control regime, laws, and national regulations, and how in turn the refugees assert their agency through resilience and resistance, individually and collectively.

EXPRESS: Neither timeless, nor placeless: Control of food delivery gig work via place-based working time regimes

Working time regimes in platform labour are so far either ignored as a topic in research on gig work, or they are framed as an allocative instrument only. This paper argues that working time regimes instead have both a coordinating and controlling effect. Adopting the analytical framework of Labour Process Theory, the paper hence focuses on the interrelation of working time and control regimes. The empirical material presented stems from research on platform-based food courier work in Germany and is based on a mixed methods research design con-sisting of interviews, multi-sited ethnography and a survey. The findings show that platforms implement hybrid control regimes that are not only based on the sufficiently analysed algo-rithmic management, but also on complementary control through working time regimes: tem-poral control. Platforms organise intra-platform markets where workers compete for shifts by means of performance. Thus, platforms are able to ensure an efficient and simultaneously reliable use of an autonomous and spatially distributed workforce. Furthermore, it is shown that platform labour is not placeless, either. The effects of its control regime vary according to different local conditions. As a result, platforms cannot be analysed only as techno-cultural ecosystems, but also as local-specific socio-economic structures.

Delegated Censorship: The Dynamic, Layered, and Multistage Information Control Regime in China

How does internet censorship work in China, and how does it reflect the Chinese state’s logic of governing society? An online political publication, Global China (海外看世界), was created by the authors, and the pattern and record of articles being censored was analyzed. Using results from A/B tests on the articles and interviews with relevant officials, the article shows that the state employs delegated censorship, outsourcing significant responsibility to private internet companies and applying levels of scrutiny based on timing, targets, and stage of publication. The dynamic, layered, multistage censorship regime creates significant variation and flexibility across the Chinese internet, most often in decisions about what to censor. This approach aims to maintain regime stability and legitimacy while minimizing costs. Rather than blocking all information and players, the state recognizes its technical and bureaucratic limits but also realizes the benefits of a degree of toleration. Delegated censorship utilizes both power control and power sharing and offers a new understanding of authoritarian state-society relations.

System of drugs circulation based on medical and pharmaceutical law

It is proved that the harmonization of medicine and pharmacy to the EU requirements is based on the components of medical and pharmaceutical law: medical legislation, pharmaceutical legislation, forensic pharmacy, evidence-based medicine, evidence-based pharmacy, drug control regime. An interpretation of the components of medical and pharmaceutical law is given. The system of circulation of medicines is resulted.