The question of whether states are best seen as rational actors, world-cultural vessels, or components of a world capitalist system is a prominent theme in the sociology and political science of international relations today. At the same time, the field of security studies is undergoing a reevaluation in light of both recent real-world changes and development in international relations theorizing. In this dissertation, I address both the debates from a new theoretical perspective, that of the political economy of the world system through an examination of the trade patterns of three fighter aircraft.; The study's methodology involves both quantitative analysis of the international trade in fighter aircraft between 1970 and 1990, and historical analysis of four case study states—Pakistan, Spain, Greece, and India—which acquired or negotiated for more than one aircraft of similar capabilities.; I conclude that states use fighter aircraft as tools of national security, and that the conception of national security itself changes as a function of shifts in the world system. The semi-peripheral states in this study attach controversial development and political linkage goals to their aircraft acquisitions programs, thereby coding them as issues of national security. This process cannot be fully understand without taking into account power relations between states and the development trajectories of individual countries, and only in the context of a given historical moment can a particular conception of security be said to operate.
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