The impact of the proliferation of ballistic missiles technology on international security

Abstract

Due to the rapid development of technology after the Second World War, the way of conducting conflict has changed significantly. One of the branches of the armaments industry that has developed the most is space technology and related to it ballistic missiles. Undoubtedly, possession by international entity ballistic missile technology, especially in connection with weapons of mass destruction, increases the importance and role of this entity on the international arena. Therefore, the proliferation of this technology or ready-made missile systems has a significant impact on regional and international security. Therefore, in order to explain this phenomenon, the first part of the article describes the role of ballistic missiles for international security. In the second part, author describes varied ways how international actor, such a state or organization may come into possession of ballistic missiles and also the methods used to stop or limit proliferation i.e. counter-proliferation methods. The last part of this article describes the ways how selected examples states such us Egypt, People’s Republic of China, Israel, India, North Korea, Iraq and South Africa have come into possession of ballistic missile technology. In connection with the above, it will be possible to show what proliferation of this kind of technology looked like and may look like in practice.