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5811. China Pakistan Economic Corridor and the Complex Interdependence

Author:
Sohail Ahmad
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Abstract:
Presented in the late 70s, the theory of Complex Interdependence is in line with the contemporary scenario of international politics. International politics has given up the traditional approaches of hard power. Non-state actors now serve as significant stakeholders in world peace. This paper examines CPEC along the framework of Complex Interdependence. China will build a network of roads, railways and highways across Pakistan, contributing to infrastructure development and economic growth. The notion that China and Pakistan are “iron brothers” is popular among the diplomatic circles of both states. Both states share military, diplomatic and strategic ties. However, the economic ties could not be realized to the full potential as contacts at the societal level are minimal. CPEC possesses the ability to bridge these gaps and transform the relation into “Complex Interdependence”.
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5812. Evaluation of the Post-Insurgency Rehabilitation Program in Sri Lanka

Author:
Ilan Khan
Publication Date:
02-2018
Content Type:
Research Paper
Abstract:
In the broader Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) programs, the terms ‘rehabilitation’ and ‘reintegration’ are erroneously used as synonyms. The manifestation of these two distinct phases of a program can be seen in many affected parts of the world. Sri Lanka is one such place where the rehabilitation program was launched after an extended war against insurgency. The vigilantes constituted by the Sri Lankan armed forces, known as Civil Defense Forces (CDF) has been controversial. This paper differentiates the theory and practice and explains what could be done to enhance the capacity and effectiveness of the programs.
Topic:
International Security and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Sri Lanka

5813. Mitigating Challenges of CASA-1000 for Greater Regional Cooperation

Author:
Zehar Abbass
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Abstract:
To sustain economic growth of the South Asian region, an uninterrupted supply of abundant Central Asian energy needs to be ensured. The situation for energy trade between the two regions is mutually beneficial. The Central Asia South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (CASA-1000) is a well-thought initiative to fulfill the energy demands of the region by transmitting 1300 megawatts electricity from Tajikistan and Kyrgyz Republic to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Central Asian partners are enthusiastic on the completion of CASA-1000 as the project is expected to bring an economic boost to the countries. Despite many opportunities, the project is facing some challenges in the form of financing of the project, security of the transmission lines, political instability of Afghanistan, and sustainability. This paper attempts to highlight challenges which may impede the successful implementation of the project
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
South Asia

5814. Foreign Debt and its Implications for Pakistan’s National Security

Author:
Rafaqat Islam
Publication Date:
02-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Abstract:
National security implications of the rising government debt in Pakistan increase concerns about military powers such as the USA and industrial giants such as Japan. This paper examines the unprecedented rise and abundant use of debt by governments since 2008. Apart from economic sustainability risks of the debt, the paper also traces history of Pakistan’s search for national security since 1947. Pakistan achieved nuclear capability in the face of opposition from the USA. There are fears that in the presence of huge external debts and low capacity to service them, Pakistan may not be able to take independent decisions regarding national security. The paper offers recommendations to overcome the threats.
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Pakistan

5815. Expression of Socio-Political Zeitgeist in Tsarist Central Asia Printing

Author:
Ayaz Ahmad
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Abstract:
Orientalist approach to Central Asia especially Bukhara in our historical references present a romantic picture. This paper takes publications and printing as the indicator of intellectual maturity of the population and progressive zeitgeist in socio-political life. Analysis of historical events and facts reveal very little appetite of reading, almost universal ignorance and scarcity of written/printed books. The transformation of Central Asia took place after introduction of presses during the Tsarist control. With the arrival of printing, not only literacy increased but also the scope, number and range of topics expanded. As a result of printing/publication, the Jadidist ideology emerged and opposed the Qadimist status quo. Ultimately the Jadids prevailed. Therefore, the paper establishes that socio-political awakening and increase in printing/publication are linked. The paper recommends revisiting errors in the representation of Central Asia in our accounts of history.
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Central Asia

5816. Strategic Significance of Pakistan’s Counter Terrorism Efforts Since 2014

Author:
Masood Ur Rehman Khattak
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Abstract:
Pakistan is successfully fighting against militants in its tribal areas. The threat in tribal areas has complicated security situation. Many terrorist groups allegedly operate in FATA, e.g. Hafiz Gul Buhadur Group, Molvi Nazir Group, the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, and the Haqqani Network/ Afghan Taliban. The operation Zarb-I-Azb was a huge success. Pakistan’s armydestroyed many IED Factories, dismantled training Centers of the Suicide Bombers run by different terrorist groups and TTP Run Media Centers, exposed detention centers of militants and recovered foreign currency during Operation Zarb-i-Azb. For long term peace and stability in tribal areas, the government must carry out reconstruction and development programs on a large scale. There is a need to rebuild the capacity of the local population. Free education, rehabilitation and de-radicalization programs must be initiated to mainstream FATA youth.
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Pakistan

5817. Insidious Threats to Academic Freedom in the US and Abroad

Author:
Michael Ignatieff and Craig Calhoun
Publication Date:
03-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Centerpiece
Institution:
Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
n the division of labor that Craig Calhoun and I agreed upon, he's going to deal with the insidious threats, the subtler ones, the ones that are perhaps characteristic of American or North Atlantic academic life, and I'm going to deal with the straight on, in your face, “boom boom” threats that have arisen where I am in Hungary. I'm going to tell you a little narrative about what's happened to Central European University (CEU), and then I'd like to talk about a characterization of these kinds of societies. The relationship between a place like Hungary and a place like here is complex. There is a collusive relationship, a disturbingly collusive relationship between liberal democratic societies, which enjoy full academic freedom, and societies which do not. And it's that collusive relationship that I think we need to think about. That will be my headline. Most of you will know that CEU is a graduate institution offering masters and PhDs, accredited in New York state and by Middle States. We offer degrees that are accredited also by the Hungarian administration. So we're a kind of European-American institution. We're one of almost thirty institutions of higher learning around the world that have no domestic US campus. But note, this is the geostrategic implication: these institutions are now implanted all over the world in authoritarian societies where their capacity to operate freely is very much in question. So my story about Hungary is not just a story about Hungary. It's potentially a story about Egypt, about Russia, about Abu Dhabi—about all the places where American norms of academic freedom are suddenly under challenge because of the emergence of these kinds of regimes.
Topic:
Authoritarianism, Populism, Academia, and Atlantic World
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, Hungary, North America, and Central Europe

5818. Democracy’s Crisis: On the Political Contradictions of Financialized Capitalism

Author:
Nancy Fraser
Publication Date:
09-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Centerpiece
Institution:
Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
We are currently facing a crisis of democracy. That much is beyond dispute. What is less well understood, however, is that this crisis is not freestanding, and its sources do not lie exclusively in the political realm. Contra bien-pensant commonsense, it cannot be solved by restoring civility, cultivating bipartisanship, opposing tribalism, or defending truth-oriented, fact-based discourse. Nor, contra recent democratic theory, can our political crisis be resolved by reforming the political realm—not by strengthening “the democratic ethos,” reactivating “the constituent power,” unleashing the force of “agonism” or fostering “democratic iterations.”1 All these proposals fall prey to an error I call “politicism.” By analogy with economism, politicist thinking overlooks the causal force of extra-political society. Treating the political order as self-determining, it fails to problematize the larger societal matrix that generates its deformations. In fact, democracy’s present crisis is firmly anchored in a social matrix. It represents one strand of a broader, more far-reaching crisis, which also encompasses other strands—ecological, economic, and social. Inextricably entwined with these others, it cannot be understood in isolation from them. Neither freestanding nor merely sectoral, today’s democratic ills form the specifically political strand of a general crisis that is engulfing our social order in its entirety. Their underlying bases lie in the sinews of that social order—in the latter’s institutional structures and constitutive dynamics. Bound up with processes that transcend the political, democratic crisis can only be grasped by a critical perspective on the social totality.
Topic:
Democracy, Capitalism, Social Contract, and Social Order
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5819. Kroc Insight – Negotiating at the Invisible Peace Table: Inclusion of Women in Informal Peacebuilding Processes

Author:
Jennifer Bradshaw and Mariam Yazdani
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace Justice, University of San Diego
Abstract:
In the second installment of the Kroc Insight series, Program Officer Jennifer Bradshaw and 2018 Woman PeaceMaker Fellow Mariam Yazdani explore how to build more effective and inclusive peace negotiations. What came out of these conversations was a need to share out an often under-documented space within peace negotiations, “the invisible peace negotiation table."
Topic:
Peacekeeping, Women, Feminism, and Negotiation
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5820. Dilemmas and Experiences of International Support for Inclusive Peacebuilding

Author:
Clare Castillejo
Publication Date:
02-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:
The issue of inclusive peacebuilding has moved up the international agenda in recent years. There is now unprecedented policy-level commitment among the international community to promote inclusion in conflict-affected contexts; growing evidence of the importance of inclusion for sustainable peace and development; emerging lessons on best approaches for promoting inclusion; and a recognition among international actors of the need to learn from past weaknesses in this area. This report examines the current policy context for providing international support to inclusive peacebuilding. It identifies how international actors can strengthen their efforts to promote inclusion by learning from previous experience and drawing on new knowledge and approaches. It goes on to look at how international actors have supported inclusion in three very different conflict-affected contexts, Afghanistan, Somalia and Nepal, and asks how international actors have engaged on issues of inclusion in these contexts, what factors shaped this engagement, and what the results have been.
Topic:
Diplomacy, International Cooperation, Conflict, and Peace
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Nepal, and Somalia