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321. Pakistan and the Crescent of Crisis

Author:
Stephen P. Cohen
Publication Date:
04-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Situated at the intersection of many American and European concerns, Pakistan has been linked to terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and Islamic extremism; it is politically unstable and economically problematic, and has recently undergone a series of crises, some with nuclear overtones, with India. Pakistan is also located at a geostrategic crossroad, bound to India by geography, culture, and chronic enmity; a self-proclaimed Islamic state with many ties to the Muslim and Arab worlds; long-standing ambitions in Afghanistan and We stand Central Asia, and en during military and strategic ties to China and North Korea.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Nuclear Weapons, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Afghanistan, America, Europe, Central Asia, Middle East, and India

322. Building State and Security in Afghanistan and the Region

Publication Date:
08-2005
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, Princeton University
Abstract:
In this fifth LISD meeting on Afghanistan, international experts – the discussants ultimately contributing to the content of this publication – have analyzed and debated critical issues facing the new Afghan state after the inauguration of the first democratically elected president, Hamid Karzai, in 2004. In terms of state-building, issues include the conduct of the soon to be held parliamentary elections, institutional design, culture and education, as well as the establishment of infrastructure and vital economics. Regarding security issues, areas of concern included narcotics, disarmament and re-integration of former combatants, PRTs, and more generally, the role and impact of the international community. Discussions have focused on the pragmatic details of these policy debates and developed larger, more theoretical questions of state-building, legitimacy, and viable institutions. It has become clear that in the shadow of international attention to the elections in Iraq and now the natural catastrophe of the recent tsunami in Asia, continued international attention paid to Afghanistan has varied– both in terms of actual assistance and financially. The Phase II LISD Vienna meeting has generated a number of recommendations and lessons for Afghanistan and the international community, which are also relevant for building state and security elsewhere.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Government, and War
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and Central Asia

323. Eurasian Alternative in Turkish Foreign Policy

Author:
Erel Tellal
Publication Date:
03-2005
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Abstract:
One of the constant fundamental principles of Turkish foreign policy during the republican era has been its “Western orientation”. In spite of this fact Turkey faced an “Eurasian alternative” in the last decade. Turkey, after negligence for 70 years, has tried to develop (to have friendly relations) with Central Asian and southern Caucasian states after they had acquired independence. The attempt of the last ten years can be called as failure of the last ten years. Since the State and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs remained ineffective in the process of determining policy and implementing it, this vacuum was filled by extreme nationalists who are inclined to see themselves as “big brother” and also by religious fundamentalists. Moreover, reasons stemming from the region and international environment played a role in the failure of Turkish policies as well. In the second decade Turkey should determine the related factors and head toward to cooperate with regional countries and Russia in order to become successful in the region.
Topic:
Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Central Asia, Eurasia, Turkey, and Asia

324. Turkish-Tajik Relations After the Independence

Author:
Pinar Akçali
Publication Date:
03-2005
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Abstract:
This article aims to analyze the relations between Turkey and Tajikistan in the aftermath of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The relations between these two countries remained rather limited in the period of 1991-1994 because Tajikistan was not Turkic, faced negative economic conditions, went through a civil war, and had closer ties with Iran and Russia. Between 1995 and 2003, however, these relations improved as Turkey better realized the fact that Tajikistan was both an inseparable part of Central Asian geography and critical for regional stability. Furthermore, in this period, Tajik Civil War ended with an important political reconciliation. It is concluded that although there has been a relative improvement in Turkish-Tajik relations since Tajikistan's independence, it has not yet reached to a satisfactory level.
Topic:
International Relations, Economics, and War
Political Geography:
Russia, Iran, Central Asia, Turkey, Asia, and Tajikistan

325. Global Cleanout: An Emerging Approach to the Civil Nuclear Material Threat

Author:
Philipp C. Bleek
Publication Date:
09-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
Terrorists and states hostile to the United States and its allies are pursuing nuclear weapons. The acquisition of even primitive nuclear weapons by terrorists willing to sacrifice their own lives to kill thousands of civilians would be catastrophic, while nuclear proliferation to hostile states poses grave dangers.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Nuclear Weapons, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
United States and Central Asia

326. Stability, Security, and Sovereignty in the Republic of Georgia

Author:
David L. Phillips
Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
The Republic of Georgia suffers from pervasive problems. Popular frustrations boiled over after the November 2, 2003, parliamentary elections, which international observers determined were fraudulent. Facing mass protests and civil disobedience, President Eduard Shevardnadze resigned. The so-called revolution of roses culminated in a peaceful transfer of power when Mikhail Saakashvili assumed the presidency after receiving 96 percent of the vote in a special ballot on January 4, 2004.
Topic:
Security, Democratization, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
Central Asia, Asia, and Georgia

327. War Economies in a Regional Context: Overcoming the Challenges of Transformation

Author:
Kaysie Studdard
Publication Date:
03-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
This policy report distills key findings from research commissioned by the International Peace Academy's program on Economic Agendas in Civil Wars (EACW) on the regional dimensions of war economies and the challenges they pose for peacemaking and peacebuilding. Drawing from analytical research as well as case studies of Afghanistan in Central Asia, Sierra Leone in West Africa, and Bosnia and Herzegovina in Southeast Europe, a number of key issues concerning the political economy of regional war economies and lessons for more effective peacebuilding were identified: The notion that internal conflicts have economic "spill over" or "spill into" effects on neighboring states needs to be extended and deepened. Policymakers should work to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the interstate impacts of civil conflict that gives greater weight to systemic cross-border networks and less to potentially 'one-off' transborder phenomena.
Topic:
Economics, Peace Studies, Regional Cooperation, and War
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Europe, Central Asia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, and West Africa

328. Disappearing the Dead: Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Idea of a "New Warfare

Author:
Carl Conetta
Publication Date:
02-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Project on Defense Alternatives
Abstract:
Among those endeavors that a state or a people may undertake, none is more terrible than war. None has repercussions more far-reaching or profound. Thus, a grave responsibility to one's own nation and to the global community attends any decision to go to war. And part of this responsibility is to estimate and gauge the effects of war, including the collateral damage and civilian casualties that it incurs.
Topic:
Defense Policy and War
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Iraq, Central Asia, and Middle East

329. Georgian Security Sector: Achievements and Failures

Author:
David Darchiashvili
Publication Date:
02-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Austrian National Defence Academy
Abstract:
Currently, the term security sector is not only understood in terms of traditional military-political institutions such as army, external intelligence, and command and control systems. As the edition of the UK Department for International Development "Understanding and Supporting Security Sector Reform" puts it: "[...] in broad terms the security sector comprises all those responsible for protecting the state and communities within it." Accordingly, police, justice, public and nongovernmental organizations and human rights protection institutions can also be included in the security actors' list.
Topic:
Security and Defense Policy
Political Geography:
United States, United Kingdom, and Central Asia

330. The Paradox of Policy: American Interests in the Post-9/11 Caucasus

Author:
Peter K. Forster
Publication Date:
02-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Austrian National Defence Academy
Abstract:
For the decade preceding September 11, 2001, the Caucasus were a "C list" foreign policy priority for the United States. The region neither presented an imminent threat to the United States nor its security interests. American policy was focused on "securing the Cold War victory" whilst regional interests in the Caucasus were defined by economic considerations and a pseudo-policy of neo-containment of Russia. However, 9/11 changed American perspectives on its security interests. The sources of terrorism, the reality of the threat posed by failed states, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction became the new foreign policy dogma. Under these new circumstances, the Caucasus, arguably, migrated to a "B list" priority or one in which American interests were threatened.
Topic:
Security and Defense Policy
Political Geography:
United States, America, and Central Asia