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52. Elections in Afghanistan
- Author:
- Yalım Eralp
- Publication Date:
- 06-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Global Political Trends Center
- Abstract:
- Elections are being held in Afghanistan. The result will not change Afghan political landscape. As Obama said, the war was not one of choice but of necessity. Yet the Western project of building a unified Afghan nation and creating a modern state was a matter of choice. It has a very slim chance of succeeding. Today, it is better understood.
- Topic:
- Politics and Military Strategy
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Taliban
53. When Should We Talk to Terrorists?
- Author:
- Audrey Kurth Cronin
- Publication Date:
- 05-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- The longer a terrorist group has been in existence, the more likely it is to engage in negotiations. Even so, only about 18 percent of terrorist groups engage in talks on strategic issues at all. When groups do enter talks, the most common pattern is for negotiations to drag on, with the conflict occupying a middle ground between a stable cease-fire and high levels of violence. Negotiations do not necessarily result in a cessation of the violence: about half of the groups that have entered negotiations in recent years have continued to be active in their violence as the talks unfolded, typically at a lower level of intensity or frequency. A wide range of variables can determine the efficacy of negotiations. A crucial element in the success or failure of such talks is the ability of policy makers to devise a plan in advance for what will happen when violence does again occur. Those policymakers who are able to unite with their non state negotiating partners in condemning violence are more likely to sustain talks and make progress. Talks with some global affiliates of al-Qaeda, as well as some smaller factions of the Taliban, may hold promise. Talks should not be seen as a “silver bullet” but rather as a way to manage and channel the violence over the long term, a process that often contributes to the decline of groups or their demise, along with other factors.
- Topic:
- Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- Taliban
54. Economic Development and Security for Afghanistan
- Author:
- Guenter Overfeld and Michael Zumot
- Publication Date:
- 01-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- EastWest Institute
- Abstract:
- Jobs and income generation for Afghan people are two key elements to increase development and achieve stability in Afghanistan. With a jobless rate of 40 percent (out of a total labor force estimated at about 15 million people in 2004) and 44 percent of the population below the age of 14, the issue is of paramount importance. Jobs and income generation are also relevant for the international community's efforts to tackle the Taliban insurgency in the near term. Given the widely accepted position that many “rank and file” Taliban fighters are “Taliban for economic reasons” they should be open to reintegration where economic opportunities are created. The upcoming London conference on Afghanistan on January 28 will see Afghanistan's president unveil a plan to offer jobs, education, pensions and land to Taliban fighters who lay down their weapons as part of the reconciliation and reintegration plan.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, War, and Labor Issues
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Taliban, and London
55. Idean Salehyan, Rebels Without Borders: Transnational Insurgencies in World Politics
- Author:
- Paul Staniland
- Publication Date:
- 04-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Political Science Quarterly
- Institution:
- Academy of Political Science
- Abstract:
- The current war in Afghanistan shows the importance of cross-border insurgency, as the Taliban are fueled by recruits, funds, and sanctuary in Pakistan. Idean Salehyan's book offers a well-designed and clearly executed study of a pressing topic. Salehyan argues that "transnational rebels" (TNRs) pose a unique set of challenges, making civil conflict more likely and enduring, while also contributing to international conflict.
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Taliban
56. A "Net Shift" for Afghanistan
- Author:
- John Arquilla
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- PRISM
- Institution:
- Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
- Abstract:
- Some three millennia ago, the Persian philosopher Zoroaster dubbed mountainous Afghanistan "the land of the high flags." But there is far more to its identity than the powerful shaping influence of terrain upon its culture; there is above all the paradox of the Afghan peoples themselves. Xenophobic from time immemorial, they are nonetheless a mix of Aryans, Greeks, Chinese, Indians, Mongols, and others. Quintessentially isolationist, their country has always been a crossroads of trade and conquest. Indeed, the great city of Kandahar-the true capital of the Taliban-is named after Alexander the Great, who tarried there. And so for all the cool distance conveyed by the notion of the "high flags," the deeper story of Afghanistan is one of a mass mixing of peoples and of a crucial hub in the infrastructure of East-West interconnection. In short, it is a land comprised of dense, ancient social and physical networks.
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Taliban
57. Afghanistan: Long-term Solutions and Perilous Shortcuts
- Author:
- Ali Ahmad Jalali
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- PRISM
- Institution:
- Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
- Abstract:
- This summer, a series of interconnected events is expected to strongly influence the political and security landscape of Afghanistan, with potentially fateful consequences. In May, some 1,600 delegates (women among them), including government and elected officials, tribal elders, religious personalities, community leaders, and civil society activists met in Kabul to advise the government on basic terms for negotiation with the armed opposition and ways to accommodate reconcilable insurgents. This was to be followed in July by an international conference in Kabul called for by the London Conference in January. The Kabul meeting was attended by foreign ministers from neighboring countries and by Afghanistan's leading partners. The delegates made commitments to improve governance, security, and development in Afghanistan under Afghan leadership. Meanwhile, the U.S.-led coalition launched a major military effort to enhance security and facilitate effective governance in Kandahar, the second largest Afghan city and the spiritual home of the Taliban.
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United States, and Taliban
58. Countering Taliban Information Operations in Afghanistan
- Author:
- Tim Foxley
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- PRISM
- Institution:
- Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
- Abstract:
- Even 9 years after international intervention in Afghanistan, little is understood about the tribes and ethnic groups that make up the country. How they react, think, feel, and prioritize remain largely unknown quantities, and therefore international attempts to influence them are perhaps unsurprisingly proving problematic. But perception is everything in Afghanistan, and information activities are playing an increasingly important part in shaping perception and generating support for insurgents and counterinsurgents alike, both inside and outside the country. Hundreds of different groups and actors are at work, from the diverse component parts of the Afghan populace to the array of governmental, military, and nongovernmental organization (NGO) elements of international effort. All are communicating-some even coherently. All are influencing-some intentionally, some unintentionally.
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Taliban
59. Stabilization Operations Beyond Government: Joint Venture Public-Private Partnerships in Iraq and Afghanistan
- Author:
- Matthew W. Parin
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- PRISM
- Institution:
- Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
- Abstract:
- Against the backdrop of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a changing strategic environment in the broader Middle East, political leaders now are confronting the difficult question of how to achieve long-term stability. The toppling of the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan and removal of Saddam Hussein from Iraq displayed the capability of America's military to marshal overwhelming conventional force against its enemies. However, this overwhelming capability soon was eclipsed when this same force struggled to secure durable peace either in Iraq or Afghanistan.
- Topic:
- War
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Iraq, America, Middle East, and Taliban
60. An Interview with Hasain Haqqani
- Author:
- Husain Haqqani
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- PRISM
- Institution:
- Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
- Abstract:
- From Pakistan's perspective, a stable Afghanistan-with a government favorably disposed toward Pakistan and that contains the Taliban threat and does not allow it to spill over into Pakistan-would represent success. Without going into history, let me just say that Pakistan's policy now is to help Afghanistan attain long-term stability and build national institutions, including the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police. But at the same time, we are realistic enough to understand that Afghanistan's institutions of state will not emerge overnight; it takes decades to build an army; it takes a long time to build an ethos of a comprehensive and integrated civil service. So the first priority in Afghanistan ought to be to beat the insurgency, to contain the Taliban threat, and at the same time to make it possible for reconcilable elements in the insurgency to be brought into the political mainstream through a process of reconciliation. But Pakistan's own security is important to Pakistanis, and we certainly do not want Afghanistan to be used for intelligence or military operations aimed at undermining Pakistan's security.
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Taliban