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261. Women’s Economic Empowerment in Afghanistan, 2002-2012: Information Mapping and Situational Analysis

Author:
Rahim Azami, Massouda Kohistani, and Lena Ganesh
Publication Date:
11-2013
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
Abstract:
In the recent socio-economic culture of Afghanistan, as in most countries since the industrial revolution’s introduction of the artificial division between production and reproduction, women’s participation in the labour economy, whether productive or reproductive, has been invisible and unaccounted for in much policy-making, planning and budgeting. In parallel, socio-cultural practices specific to Afghanistan—often an uncertain mix between the Shari’āh and the customary laws followed by different ethnicities and tribes—have adversely affected the living conditions of women and girls. As a consequence, women’s practical and strategic needs have not been addressed by consecutive regimes. In parallel, the discourse of women’s human rights has not permeated much of the more recent rhetoric around “gender empowerment” to materially and politically improve the lives of women and girls in Afghanistan.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Women, Economic Policy, and Economic Development
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and South Asia

262. Qatar’s Natural Sustainability: Plans, Perceptions, and Pitfalls

Author:
Mari Luomi
Publication Date:
12-2012
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Center for International and Regional Studies: CIRS
Abstract:
Growth in Qatar in the past decade has been tremendous: the total population has increased by one million and the economy has grown four-fold, leading to the skyrocketing of energy and water demand and greenhouse gas emissions.2 This research paper argues that a crucial question in need of answering is: how important is the environment for Qatar? Fast growth in population and natural resource consumption, together with a pronounced emphasis on economic growth, have had devastating impacts on the country’s environmental and sustainability performance. Recently ranked as the country with the world’s highest ecological footprint,3 Qatar urgently needs to balance its natural resource use with the local environmental and ecosystem limits so as to ensure prosperity for its people and the environment far into the future. The same question applies to Qatar’s neighboring monarchies, which share very similar economic and demographic dynamics as well as similar political and climatic conditions.
Topic:
Environment and Climate Finance
Political Geography:
Qatar

263. Local Governances in Afghanistan: A View from the Ground

Author:
Douglas Saltmarshe and Abhilash Medhi
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
Abstract:
This report finds that insufficient attention has been given to local governance in Afghanistan, despite the fact that most Afghan citizens encounter the state in provinces and districts. This neglect is inhibiting the significant efforts made in Kabul from having much impact on the ground. The research was undertaken over a 14 month period finishing in December 2010. It took place in 47 districts of Samangan, Jawzjan, Sar-i-Pul, Laghman, Wardak and Day Kundi Provinces, with additional time spent in two districts of Helmand. Key findings are presented under the following themes: Local Government Administration, Security and Justice, Service Delivery, and Representation.
Topic:
Governance
Political Geography:
Afghanistan

264. Finding the Money: Informal Credit Practices in Rural Afghanistan

Author:
Floortje Klijin and Adam Pain
Publication Date:
06-2007
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
Abstract:
It is widely believed that there is a strong demand for credit in Afghanistan and that much of this demand is unmet, justifying a major programme in microcredit provision. But there is very little understanding of the extent and the workings of informal credit systems, particularly outside opium poppy growing areas. Is there such an absence of credit available to poor rural households as is assumed? Do microfinance and informal credit respond to the same needs? Is informal credit simply the same thing as formal credit, except that it takes place outside formal institutions? And if there is more informal credit available than is believed, what does this mean for the development and role of formal credit systems? These key questions informed a detailed anthropological study of informal credit practices in three contrasting villages in Herat, Ghor and Kapisa. Drawing from a detailed presentation of eight households case studies, and amplified with addition case material, a number of key conclusions can be drawn from the findings.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Monetary Policy, Microcredit, Rural, Money, Demand, and Credit
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and South Asia

265. Bulgaria in NATO and the EU: Implications for the Regional Foreign and Security Policy of the Country

Author:
Plamen Pantev
Publication Date:
01-2005
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Institute for Security and International Studies (ISIS)
Abstract:
The study includes three main interrelated issues, reflecting Bulgaria’s approaches and interests in preserving and developing a particular set of partnerships in South East Europe with the purpose of continuing the trend of the region’s modernisation in the fields of economy, infrastructure, technology, society and politics: first, the balancing between the special pragmatic relations of the United States with Bulgaria, and the EU integration of the country and the region; second, reaching a higher quality of NATO and EU memberships as a vehicle of pushing ahead the processes of regional emancipation, and, third, the specific regional consequences of the country’s membership in NATO and soon – in the EU
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus