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122. Guerre, reconstruction de l’Etat et invention de la tradition en Afghanistan (War, Reconstruction of the State and Invention of Tradition in Afghanistan)
- Author:
- Fariba Adelkhah
- Publication Date:
- 03-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales
- Abstract:
- War since 1979 and the reconstruction of the state under Western tutelage since 2001 have led to a simplification of the identity of Afghan society, through an invention of ethnicity and tradition – a process behind which the control or the ownership of the political and economic resources of the country are at stake. Hazarajat is a remarkable observation site of this process. Its forced integration into the nascent Afghan state during the late nineteenth century has left a mark on its history. The people of Hazara, mainly Shi’ite, has been relegated to a subordinate position from which it got out of progressively, only by means of jihad against the Soviet occupation in the 1980s and the US intervention in 2001, at the ost of an ethnicization of its social and political consciousness. Ethnicity, however, is based on a less communitarian than unequal moral and political economy. Post-war aid to state-building has polarized social relations, while strengthening their ethnicization: donors and NGOs remain prisoners of a cultural, if not orientalist approach to the country that they thereby contribute to “traditionalize”, while development aid destabilizes the “traditional” society by accelerating its monetization and commodification.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Civil Society, Religion, War, History, Sociology, Peacekeeping, Identities, State, and Anthropology
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Central Asia, Asia, and United States of America
123. An Appraisal of Pakistan’s Nuclear Policy during War on Terror
- Author:
- Muhammad Ilyas Ansari and Iram Khalid
- Publication Date:
- 01-2016
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- South Asian Studies
- Institution:
- Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
- Abstract:
- This paper seeks to analyze that why some nations to nuclear in the international structure for the sake of national security when nuclear is an expensive and hard option? Due to fragile geopolitical position of Pakistan,security concerns have always forced her to find balance of power in the south Asian region through different ways. Having fought three major wars with India in 1948, 1965 and 1971 in an asymmetric military environment, Pakistan had been in disadvantageous position. War of 1971 in which Pakistan lost its Eastern wing (now Bangladesh, as an independent state) and nuclear explosion by India in 1974 forced Pakistan to follow the nuclear path. This paper analyzes the results of nuclear policy in the form of economic sanctions imposed by US and its allies, and reversal of US policy after 9/11 regarding sanctions against Pakistan. In the wake of 9/11 incident for joining the US led Global War on Terror, General Musharraf had announced that his objective was to save the nuclear and missile assets of Pakistan. This paper analyses that how Pakistani governments of General Musharraf, and Zardari from 2001 to 2013, had been under immense pressure through different coercive tactics ( from Dr. A. Q khan’s network to safety of nuclear program) to ruin the Pakistani nuclear program which had proved to prevent wars between India and Pakistan since 1999 to 2013. What costs Pakistan had to pay and what benefits Pakistan gained due to nuclear program.
- Topic:
- Cold War, Nuclear Weapons, Terrorism, War, History, Nuclear Power, and War on Terror
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, South Asia, India, Punjab, and United States of America
124. Extremism in Contemporary Pakistan: Threats, Causes and Future Policy
- Author:
- Saqib Khan and Umbreen Javaid
- Publication Date:
- 07-2016
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- South Asian Studies
- Institution:
- Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
- Abstract:
- The origin and foundations of religious extremism in Pakistan are a byzantine mix of national, regional and international influences resulting in a complex scenario. The extremists have been multiplied as a result of improved organization, and comparative inaction of government to counter them. Muslim extremism at the global level has a variety of root causes. The Afghan war of the 1980s supported and assisted by the West as a proxy war against the Soviet Union, saw the appearance and promotion of pan-Islamic militancy. Islam as a religion was used to tie together masses, worldwide Muslim support. Since Pakistan‟s establishment as a distinct state in 1947, Pakistan has struggled with the connotation of its identity. General Zia, who tumbled the government of Z. A. Bhutto in 1977, used Islam to validate his rule. Extended military interferences in politics led to an insecure political system. Ethnic differences and nationalist movements further deteriorated it. In such surroundings, parties were estimated as the shields of national identity based on Islamic standards and temperate political forces were considered as an intimidation to Islamic identity of Pakistan.
- Topic:
- War, History, Violent Extremism, Political structure, and Political stability
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, South Asia, and Punjab
125. Too Quick on the Draw: Militarism and the Malpractice of Diplomacy in America
- Author:
- Chas W. Freeman Jr.
- Publication Date:
- 05-2016
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- American Diplomacy
- Institution:
- American Diplomacy
- Abstract:
- The late Arthur Goldberg, who served on our Supreme Court and as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, once said that “diplomats approach every question with an open… mouth.” No doubt that’s often true at the U.N., where parliamentary posturing and its evil twin, declaratory diplomacy, rule. But the essence of diplomacy is not talking but seeking common ground by listening carefully and with an open mind to what others don’t say as well as what they do, and then acting accordingly. Diplomacy is how a nation advances its interests and resolves problems with foreigners with minimal violence. It is the nonbelligerent champion of domestic tranquility and prosperity. It promotes mutually acceptable varieties of modus vivendi between differing perspectives and cultures.
- Topic:
- Cold War, Diplomacy, War, and Military Affairs
- Political Geography:
- North America and United States of America
126. The Effect of Civilian Casualties on Wartime Informing: Evidence from the Iraq War
- Author:
- Andrew Shaver and Jacob N. Shapiro
- Publication Date:
- 02-2016
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Empirical Studies of Conflict Project (ESOC)
- Abstract:
- Scholars of civil war and insurgency have long posited that insurgent organizations and their state enemies incur costs for the collateral damage they cause. We provide the first direct quantitative evidence that wartime informing is affected by civilian casualties. Using newly declassified data on tip flow to Coalition forces in Iraq we find that information flow goes down after government forces inadvertently kill civilians and it goes up when insurgents do so. These results have strong policy implications; confirm a relationship long posited in the theoretical literature on insurgency; and are consistent with a broad range of circumstantial evidence on the topic.
- Topic:
- War, Insurgency, Counterinsurgency, Information Age, Civilians, and Casualties
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, and Middle East
127. Yemen’s Forgotten War: How Europe Can Lay the Foundations for Peace
- Author:
- Adam Baron
- Publication Date:
- 12-2016
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- European Council On Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- After years of conflict Yemen is on the verge of absolute collapse. Institutions across the country are falling apart, while a plethora of armed groups have taken advantage of the power vacuum to claim leadership over key territories, leading to even greater fragmentation of the country. The conflict, and the accompanying Saudi-led intervention, has brought about the Middle East's most severe humanitarian crisis, with 86 percent of the population in need of humanitarian assistance. Yemen is facing a lost generation, as hundreds of thousands of Yemeni children grow up without an education or enough food to eat. The EU and its member states have a moral and strategic interest in ending the conflict. Failure to act could result in Yemen becoming a new hub for globally oriented terror groups, and could spur a new wave of refugees into Europe. The EU should make the most of its comparatively neutral position in Yemen to pave the way for post-conflict stabilisation and reach out to groups that have, to date, been marginalised in the ongoing peace process. The EU can complement UN efforts and may be faced with the responsibility of filling in for an increasingly isolationist United States.
- Topic:
- War and International Security
- Political Geography:
- Yemen
128. Disarming the Subject: Remembering War and Imagining Citizenship in Peru | Désarmer le sujet : souvenirs de la guerre et citoyenneté imaginée au Pérou
- Author:
- Kimberly Theidon
- Publication Date:
- 09-2016
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Cultures & Conflits
- Institution:
- Cultures & Conflits
- Abstract:
- War and its aftermath serve as powerful motivators for the elaboration and transmission of individual, communal, and national histories. These histories both reflect and constitute human experience by contouring social memory and producing truth effects. These histories use the past in a creative manner, combining and recombining elements of that past that serve to interests in the present. In this sense, the conscious appropriation of history involves both remembering and forgetting—both being dynamic processes permeated with intentionality. This essay explores the political use of the narratives being elaborated in rural villages in the department of Ayacucho regarding the internal war that convulsed Peru for some fifteen years. Each narrative has a political intent and assumes both an internal and external audience. Indeed, the deployment of war narratives has much to do with forging new relations of power, ethnicity, and gender that are integral to the contemporary politics of the region. These new relations impact the construction of democratic practices and the model of citizenship being elaborated in the current context.
- Topic:
- Gender Issues, War, Citizenship, and Memory
- Political Geography:
- South America and Peru
129. Counterinsurgency in Crisis: Britain and the Challenges of Modern Warfare
- Author:
- David H. Ucko and Robert Egnell
- Publication Date:
- 01-2015
- Content Type:
- Book
- Institution:
- Columbia University Press
- Abstract:
- Long considered the masters of counterinsurgency, the British military encountered significant problems in Iraq and Afghanistan when confronted with insurgent violence. In their effort to apply the principles and doctrines of past campaigns, they failed to prevent Basra and Helmand from descending into lawlessness, criminality, and violence. By juxtaposing the deterioration of these situations against Britain's celebrated legacy of counterinsurgency, this investigation identifies both the contributions and limitations of traditional tactics in such settings, exposing a disconcerting gap between ambitions and resources, intent and commitment. Building upon this detailed account of the Basra and Helmand campaigns, this volume conducts an unprecedented assessment of British military institutional adaptation in response to operations gone awry. In calling attention to the enduring effectiveness of insurgent methods and the threat posed by undergoverned spaces, David H. Ucko and Robert Egnell underscore the need for military organizations to meet the irregular challenges of future wars in new ways.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Political Violence, War, and Counterinsurgency
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Central Asia
- Publication Identifier:
- 9780231164276
- Publication Identifier Type:
- ISBN
130. Jordan’s Refugee Crisis
- Author:
- Alexandra Francis
- Publication Date:
- 09-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- The Syrian refugee crisis has exacerbated endemic political, economic, and resource challenges in Jordan. As the conflict in Syria enters a protracted state and public discontent and other tensions rise, Jordan has limited its humanitarian response. Yet, the roots of the kingdom’s challenges run deeper than the refugee crisis and if left unaddressed will be harbingers of instability. If Jordan is to confront its national challenges and continue to provide a safe haven for Syrian refugees, the country will depend on increased international support.
- Topic:
- Humanitarian Aid, Political Economy, War, and Refugee Issues
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Syria, and Jordan