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102. The ad bellum Challenge of Drones: Recalibrating Permissible Use of Force
- Author:
- Alejandro Chehtman
- Publication Date:
- 01-2017
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- Drones constitute an incremental advance in weapons systems. They are able to significantly reduce overall, as well as collateral, damage. These features seem to have important implications for the permissibility of resorting to military force. In short, drones would seem to expand the right to resort to military force compared to alternative weapons systems by making resorting to force proportionate in a wider set of circumstances. This line of reasoning has significant relevance in many contemporary conflicts. This article challenges this conclusion. It argues that resorting to military force through drones in contemporary asymmetrical conflicts would usually be disproportionate. The reason for this is twofold. First, under conditions of radical asymmetry, drones may not be discriminatory enough, and, thereby, collateral damage would still be disproportionate. Second, their perceived advantages in terms of greater discrimination are counteracted by the lesser chance of success in achieving the just cause for war. As a result, resorting to military force through drones in contemporary asymmetrical conflicts would generally be disproportionate not because of the harm they would expectedly cause but, rather, because of the limited harm they are ultimately able to prevent. On the basis of normative argument and empirical data, this article ultimately shows that we need to revise our understanding of proportionality not only at the level of moral argument but also in international law.
- Topic:
- International Law, War, Military Affairs, Weapons, and Drones
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United States, and Europe
103. Does and Should International Law Prohibit the Prosecution of Children for War Crimes?
- Author:
- Noëlle Quénivet
- Publication Date:
- 04-2017
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- This article investigates whether international law prohibits the prosecution of children for war crimes and, if it does not, whether it should do so. In particular, the interplay between restorative and retributive post-conflict justice mechanisms, on the one hand, and juvenile rehabilitative justice mechanisms, on the other, is discussed in detail. The article suggests that in certain, narrow, circumstances children having committed war crimes should be prosecuted.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Human Rights, International Law, Children, War Crimes, and Transitional Justice
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Europe, and Democratic Republic of Congo
104. Afghanistan’s Age of Transformation
- Author:
- Hamdullah Mohib
- Publication Date:
- 03-2016
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Ambassadors Review
- Institution:
- Council of American Ambassadors
- Abstract:
- The Afghanistan of today would surprise most outsiders, even those who closely follow developments in the country. We are often wrongly branded as a failing state with a struggling government whose young people are fleeing en masse for Europe and whose military has lost control of the security situation. While anecdotal evidence can always be found to lend isolated support to such claims, this sweeping characterization offers a distorted picture of reality. Afghans have always valued and cherished their freedom and sovereignty, as evidenced by our years of fighting off foreign and domestic enemies who sought to take both. Now we are reaching for new goals: freedom from dependence on foreign aid, freedom from corruption, freedom from outdated thinking that justifies the oppression of half our population, and freedom from sclerotic bureaucracy that prevents everything from citizens’ access to justice to the smooth functioning of a free market. Afghans overwhelmingly want a modern, sustainable, and self-reliant country whose government serves and is accountable to its people. Yes, the past 15 years have seen war, but they have also produced remarkable growth. Afghan society is thriving, which is a testament to the incredible resilience of the Afghan people. You might be familiar with the progress Afghanistan has made in the areas of education and on women’s rights, but there have also been advances in health, infrastructure, in media and telecommunication, and in sports and culture. 2001 to 2016 has been a time of hardship and sacrifice, but also one of innovation and hope. Today, 25 percent of our cabinet ministers are women, and there are scores of female deputy ministers, ambassadors, district governors, members of parliament, and civil servants. Afghan telecommunication companies cover some 90 percent of the population, which has an estimated 20 million cell phone users. Our media sector is thriving and can rightly be called the freest in the region. When President Ashraf Ghani—a former World Bank economist with an expertise in the causes of and solutions for fragile states—and CEO Abdullah Abdullah led the National Unity Government to power less than two years ago, their first priority was to diagnose the nature and size of the myriad problems facing the country. Then President Ghani designed a strategic roadmap of reforms to take Afghanistan forward. When that plan, “Realizing Self Reliance,” was presented in November 2014 to Afghanistan’s partners, funders, and allies, it was enthusiastically endorsed. Today, Afghanistan is 18 months into an era of unprecedented, sweeping changes—an era President Ghani has named “the transformation decade.” The government is taking innovative approaches to solving Afghanistan’s unique problems, as seen in its national priority programs such as the Citizen’s Charter and the Economic Empowerment Plan for Rural Women. There are early, promising results everywhere you look. Infrastructure projects for roads, rail, and electric and fiber optic connectivity are underway. Public finance has been improved through aggressive anti-corruption measures, with internal revenue increasing by a record breaking 22 percent in 2015. The customs and revenue departments, where corrupt practices have traditionally thrived, have undergone sweeping changes that have sent revenues to historic highs. Our new Procurement Commission reviews all contracts and has saved hundreds of millions of dollars for the government. We are rediscovering and reinvesting in the revival of our ancient past with the launch of the new cultural heritage trust fund this year. Last November, Afghanistan was accepted as a member of the World Trade Organization and is now taking strong steps to improve its ranking in the World Bank’s Doing Business Indicators, such as a new office in the Ministry of Commerce and Industries to monitor how reforms to reduce obstacles for business are being implemented on the ground, and streamline licensing procedures. The “Jobs for Peace” program that took effect late last year in 12 provinces is already providing food security for nearly 100,000 families by creating 5.5 million labor days. Eventually, it will cover all 34 provinces of Afghanistan, and is already performing above expectations. Highlights of major regional economic development deals that have been closed in the last 18 months include the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline, which will bring Afghanistan thousands of jobs and $400 million annually, and the four-nation Central Asia-South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (CASA 1000). This progress is all the more remarkable when you consider that in the short span of just one year—between the end of 2013 and the end of 2014—Afghanistan underwent cataclysmic changes. Following our first peaceful democratic transition of power in history, we installed an untested new form of government led by former rivals who agreed to come together for the benefit of the country, and our brave national security forces assumed full responsibility for national security despite lacking close air support, available medevac, and other essential capabilities. We also managed to make these gains against some steep odds that continue to work against us. Afghanistan’s economy has yet to recover from the crisis caused by the departure of more than 600,000 foreign military personnel and contractors, which sent revenue plunging and unemployment soaring to 40 percent. We have struggled to implement sweeping governance reforms and address urgent citizen needs while being constrained by budget austerity measures. And we continue to fight a war against two enemies simultaneously, the Taliban and Daesh. But despite the grim headlines that emphasize enemy attacks, our security forces have exceeded expectations, risking and losing their lives in a fight we did not ask for against invading militant groups who threaten not just Afghanistan, but the region and rest of the world. Throughout our journey toward self-reliance, a key element of our continued success will be the strength and endurance of key partnerships, particularly with the United States. Our international partners, including the United States and NATO, have pledged to maintain a significant troop level to train, assist, and advise our security forces at least through 2017. This is invaluable support because it gives the government the breathing room it needs to solve urgent problems that, when remedied, will mean a more stable country. The Afghan people and government are grateful for the continued friendship of the United States and for the fact that both our nations realize that we are united against a shared threat. We honor everyone who has made the ultimate sacrifice in this fight. A captain in the United States Navy who served with the British Royal Marines in Afghanistan once told me that the greatest show of appreciation we can make for that sacrifice is to protect and build on the progress and freedoms for which so many troops fought, died, and were wounded. And so we are. Fiscal independence is a top priority. We need to create more employment opportunities for Afghans so they can be prosperous inside the country, instead of risking their lives trying to find better lives that are not likely to materialize in Europe. Despite gains in women’s participation in all facets of society, it is completely unacceptable that many women still face the threat of violence and are discriminated against with impunity. More girls need to be in school, laying the foundation to pursue their dreams later in life. Peace is urgently needed, but we acknowledge that the process of achieving sustainable security is long, complex, and requires much more than just reconciliation with insurgent groups. Our government institutions need much more reform so that they are efficient, effective, and transparently in service to the Afghan people. Fortunately, we have a formidable engine for our momentum: Afghanistan’s massive, energetic youth population. Three-quarters of Afghans are under the age of 35, and although this generation has known only war and violence their whole lives, they are not cynical and pessimistic. Rather, they are determined to break with the past and change Afghanistan’s story. They are educated, ambitious, and they want peace and prosperity for themselves and their families. In business, education, government, civil society, and culture, they are pushing boundaries of “what is” and leading us forward to “what can be.” Afghanistan has only just started its transformation. The world should not doubt that we are determined to finish it.
- Topic:
- Communications, Fragile/Failed State, Governance, Democracy, and Modernization
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United States, and Middle East
105. Analyzing the Dynamics of Pakistan-Afghanistan Relations: Past and Present
- Author:
- Umbreen Javaid
- Publication Date:
- 01-2016
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- South Asian Studies
- Institution:
- Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
- Abstract:
- Pakistan and Afghanistan, despite the convergence of prolong socio-cultural and religious heritage and geographical contiguity, the episodic distrust between the two countries has been highlighted in the historic narratives by various experts. The divergent perceptions developed by the political dynasties in Afghanistan accompanied with the disgust towards subcontinent due to the policies of colonial masters still haunt the literature dealing with the foreign policies of both countries. Involvement of super powers and regional powers in Afghanistan further complicates the situation for both countries. The ongoing reconstruction process in Afghanistan and Pakistan’s will to uproot religious militant networks provides a prolific hope not only for the regional actors but for the world at large. The chronology of the bilateral relations has been deeply dealt with in this paper aimed at providing the course of relation from colonial to post 9/11 contemporary scenario in the South Asian region replete with various opportunities for enhancing mutual understanding and cooperation between the two countries.
- Topic:
- Regional Cooperation, History, Bilateral Relations, and Peacekeeping
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, Afghanistan, South Asia, and Punjab
106. Valentine’s Day Murder of U.S. Ambassador
- Author:
- Bruce K. Byers
- Publication Date:
- 02-2016
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- American Diplomacy
- Institution:
- American Diplomacy
- Abstract:
- Thirty-seven years ago in Kabul, Afghanistan U.S. Ambassador Adolph “Spike” Dubs, a career diplomat and U.S. Navy war veteran, was abducted on his way to the embassy in Kabul and taken to a cavernous old hotel in the center of the city. There he was taken by his abductors to a second floor room and bound to a chair while his embassy driver was sent back to the embassy to alert officials of the abduction. I was the embassy press and information officer in Kabul at the time and had worked often with Ambassador Dubs, introducing him to visiting American and third-country journalists interested in gaining his views on the Marxist Afghan regime under Nur Mohammed Tariki and the progress of the Saur Revolution.
- Topic:
- Diplomacy, Violence, and Memoir
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, South Asia, Kabul, and United States of America
107. The Ineffectiveness of American Covert Regime Change Operations During the Struggle Against Islamist Terrorism
- Author:
- Jason Cooley
- Publication Date:
- 05-2016
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- American Diplomacy
- Institution:
- American Diplomacy
- Abstract:
- Following the September 11th terrorist attacks, the United States government embarked on a campaign to weaken the Islamic extremist organizations that were present in the world. Some of the steps that this lone superpower took to accomplish this objective could be easily detected. However, there were others that went undetected until investigative reporters wrote about them in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other reputable newspapers. Once these covert initiatives were exposed, certain parties began to conduct inquiries to ascertain whether or not they were helping the United States prevent terrorist attacks by Islamist networks. Two initiatives, which received a considerable amount of attention in the post-9/11 era, were the Central Intelligence Agency’s drone and enhanced interrogation programs. In 2009, the members of the United States Senate Intelligence Committee revealed that they would be conducting a thorough review of the latter. Approximately five years after this announcement, the committee released a report to the public that said sleep deprivation, waterboarding and other forms of torture did not lead to actionable intelligence. In other words, they did not produce any information that enabled the CIA to foil terrorist attacks which were on the verge of being carried out against the United States (Klapper and Dilanian 2014). A lot of the analyses of the CIA’s drone program were conducted by prominent academics like Fawaz Gerges. At one point in The Rise and Fall of Al Qaeda, this professor at the London School of Economics mentions how drone strikes often killed innocent civilians in Muslim countries. When civilians did perish, extremist organizations would see a rise in the number of recruits who were interested in executing terrorist operations (Gerges 2014, p.25).
- Topic:
- Intelligence, Regime Change, 9/11, and Islamism
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Iraq, Middle East, North America, and United States of America
108. Warlords, Intervention, and State Consolidation: A Typology of Political Orders in Weak and Failed States
- Author:
- Romain Malejacq
- Publication Date:
- 02-2016
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Security Studies
- Institution:
- Security Studies
- Abstract:
- Despite efforts to bolster failed states over the past two decades, many states in the international system still exhibit endemic weakness. External intervention often leads to political instability and in most cases fails to foster state consolidation, instead empowering and creating ties with the ones it aims to weaken. Using the case of Afghanistan, I develop a typology of political orders that explains variation in degrees of state consolidation and provides the basis for more systematic comparative analysis. I demonstrate the resilience of a political logic according to which non-state armed actors (warlords) “shape-shift” and constantly reinvent themselves to adapt to changing political environments. This article, based on extensive field research in Afghanistan, shows why failed states are unlikely to consolidate and exhibit Western-style state building, as a result of intervention or otherwise.
- Topic:
- Fragile/Failed State, Non State Actors, State Building, and Foreign Interference
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Middle East
109. Old Habits, New Consequences: Pakistan's Posture toward Afghanistan since 2001
- Author:
- Khalid Homayun Nadiri
- Publication Date:
- 01-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Security
- Institution:
- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- Since September 11, 2001, Pakistan has pursued seemingly incongruous courses of action in Afghanistan. It has participated in the U.S. and international intervention in Afghanistan at the same time as it has permitted much of the Afghan Taliban's political leadership and many of its military commanders to visit or reside in Pakistani urban centers. This incongruence is all the more puzzling in light of the expansion of indiscriminate and costly violence directed against Islamabad by Pakistani groups affiliated with the Afghan Taliban. Pakistan's policy is the result not only of its enduring rivalry with India but also of historically rooted domestic imbalances and antagonistic relations with successive governments in Afghanistan. Three critical features of the Pakistani political system—the militarized nature of foreign policy making, ties between military institutions and Islamist networks, and the more recent rise of grassroots violence—have contributed to Pakistan's accommodation of the Afghan Taliban. Additionally, mutual suspicion surrounding the contentious Afghanistan-Pakistan border and Islamabad's long record of interference in Afghan politics have continued to divide Kabul and Islamabad, diminishing the prospect of cooperation between the two capitals. These determinants of Pakistan's foreign policy behavior reveal the prospects of and obstacles to resolving the numerous issues of contention that characterize the Afghanistan-Pakistan relationship today.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Government, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, Afghanistan, United States, and Taliban
110. Full Issue: Money & War
- Author:
- Sarah Detzner, James Copnall, Alex de Waal, Ian M. Ralby, Joshua Stanton, Ibrahim Warde, Leon Whyte, Richard Weitz, Jessica Knight, John H. Maurer, Alexander Tabarrok, Alex Nowrasteh, Tom Keatinge, Emily Knowles, Karolina MacLachlan, Andrew Lebovich, Caroline Troein, and Anne Moulakis
- Publication Date:
- 01-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Fletcher Security Review
- Institution:
- The Fletcher School, Tufts University
- Abstract:
- The Fletcher Security Review: Managed and edited by students at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, we build on the Fletcher School’s strong traditions of combining scholarship with practice, fostering close interdisciplinary collaboration, and acting as a vehicle for groundbreaking discussion of international security. We believe that by leveraging these strengths – seeking input from established and up-and-coming scholars, practitioners, and analysts from around the world on topics deserving of greater attention – we can promote genuinely unique ways of looking at the future of security. Each issue of the Review is centered around a broad theme – in this issue, we tackle “Money & War.” Money influences every aspect of warfare, conventional or unconventional. No nationstate military, insurgent group, terrorist network, trans-national criminal organization, or hybrid actor can be understood, or countered, without knowing where the money is coming from – as well as where, and how, it gets spent. Evolutions and revolutions in financial tools and practices quickly translate to transformations in military affairs, and some cases, vice versa.
- Topic:
- Security, Foreign Policy, Economics, Human Rights, Governance, Sanctions, Military Affairs, Finance, Islamic State, Navy, Arab Spring, Maritime, Conflict, Multilateralism, Islamism, Drugs, and Currency
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Africa, China, Iran, Sudan, Darfur, Middle East, Asia, North Korea, Mali, Asia-Pacific, Sahel, United States of America, and North America
111. An Excerpt from the Upcoming Book - Borderless Wars: Civil-Military Disorder and Legal Uncertainty
- Author:
- Antonia Chayes
- Publication Date:
- 08-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Fletcher Security Review
- Institution:
- The Fletcher School, Tufts University
- Abstract:
- Drones. Global data networks. The rise, and eventual primacy, of non-international armed conflict. All things the framers of the Geneva Conventions could have never fully conceived when doing their noble work in 1949; all things that rule warfare in the world today. So, how do we legally employ these new tools in these new circumstances? In her latest book, Antonia Chayes, former Under Secretary of the Air Force, explores the current legal underpinnings of counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, and cyber warfare, rooting out the ambiguities present within each realm, and telling the narrative of how these ambiguities have come to shape international security today. The grounded and creative solutions that she offers in terms of role definition and transparency will provide crucial guidance as the United States continues to navigate the murky modern military-legal landscape. This excerpt is a chapter from Borderless Wars: Civil-Military Disorder and Legal Uncertainty forthcoming in 2016 from Cambridge University Press.
- Topic:
- International Law, Counterinsurgency, Law, Military Affairs, Counter-terrorism, Drones, Conflict, Borders, and Law of Armed Conflict
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Iraq, Global Focus, and United States of America
112. Corruption Threats & International Missions: Practical Guidance for Leaders (A Book Review by Michael Sullivan)
- Author:
- Michael Sullivan, Mark Pyman, Jodi Vittori, Alan Waldron, and Nick Seymour
- Publication Date:
- 07-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Fletcher Security Review
- Institution:
- The Fletcher School, Tufts University
- Abstract:
- Over the last 14 years of war, our military developed incredible relationships both within and outside the Department of Defense. The concept of the Joint Force reached its full potential as we relied on one another in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan. We learned how to effectively integrate the talents of our Special Operations Forces and conventional forces on the battlefield. We integrated with other government agencies on the battlefield, ranging from the CIA to USAID, moving the concept of “one team, one fight” forward. We even worked closely with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and humanitarian organizations, often finding ourselves in similar areas with similar goals. As we continue to downsize in Afghanistan and our efforts in Iraq remain at the advisory level, my biggest fear is that we forget the lessons we have paid for with the blood and sweat of our brothers and sisters. It is absolutely critical that the military retain the myriad lessons learned from these 14 years for future conflicts. Toward the goal of capturing important lessons learned, Transparency International UK’s Defence and Security Programme has published the valuable handbook, “Corruption Threats and International Missions: Practical Guidance for Leaders.” This well-written and easy-to-use document will be invaluable to leaders of any organization conducting operations in areas where corruption exists, but especially for our military leaders of today and tomorrow.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Corruption, Peacekeeping, and Book Review
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Iraq, United Kingdom, and United States of America
113. Money and War: Corruption as the Hidden Enemy of Mission Success
- Author:
- Emily Knowles and Karolina MacLachlan
- Publication Date:
- 01-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Fletcher Security Review
- Institution:
- The Fletcher School, Tufts University
- Abstract:
- Corruption, instability, and conflict tend to go hand in hand. Twelve of the fifteen lowest-ranking countries on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index are currently experiencing violent insurgencies, extremist activity, or other signs of deep-seated instability. [1] Systemic, embedded corruption is a thread that runs through such seemingly disparate events as the outbreak of the Arab Spring, the conflict in Ukraine, the failure of the Malian army in 2012, the growth of Boko Haram in Nigeria, and the retreat of the Iraqi security forces in the face of ISIS. However, the effects of corruption are not limited to exacerbating the risk of conflict; corruption also makes it more difficult for states to respond to threats and for international institutions and other actors to offer effective assistance.[2] Assistance to fragile and failing states tends to include two types of engagement: international peacekeeping and/or stabilization operations and defense capacity building (i.e. assistance to the recipient states’ security forces). But without anticipating and mitigating the risks that corruption poses, the international community risks the intent of security assistance being subverted, the assistance wasted, and the success rate of stabilization operations being severely impaired. In particular, misappropriation of funds, vanishing resources, and a reliance on malign power-brokers can irreparably damage the operational success of a mission. This article is based on the research investigating the international community’s approach (or lack thereof) to tackling corruption in Afghanistan carried out by Transparency International UK’s global Defence and Security Programme (TI-DSP) and based on over 75 interviews with civilian and military officials. This work is supported by insights from TI-DSP’s long-term engagement in the Building Integrity training for the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police.[3] In the resulting report, we argue that corruption has had a significant impact on ISAF mission success and that the international community’s reaction to corrupt practices was too little, too late. We point to three main ways in which corruption and uncontrolled money flows can diminish the effectiveness of the mission and offer a planning and risk assessment framework as the first step toward addressing corruption risks on operations...
- Topic:
- Security, Corruption, Peacekeeping, Arab Spring, Conflict, and Transparency
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Iraq, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Middle East, Nigeria, and Mali
114. Avatars of Checkbook Diplomacy: From the Afghan Jihad to the Arab Spring
- Author:
- Ibrahim Warde
- Publication Date:
- 01-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Fletcher Security Review
- Institution:
- The Fletcher School, Tufts University
- Abstract:
- The United States and Saudi Arabia lavished money and weapons on unsavory characters during the anti-Soviet jihad of the 1980s, giving little thought to the possibility of a blowback or boomerang effect—that they would in effect be funding and arming their future enemies. It is indeed ironic that the principal bankrollers of the jihad later became the main targets of offshoots of that jihad. A non-negligible part of the money and weapons sent by the United States to Iraq, in particular as part of the “Sunni awakening”, is now in the hands of extremists.With the near-exclusive focus on military developments, the financial front of the war on terror is all but ignored. This article traces the evolution of checkbook diplomacy in conflicts involving the Islamic world.
- Topic:
- Diplomacy, History, Finance, Weapons, Islamism, War on Terror, and Jihad
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Iraq, Middle East, Saudi Arabia, and United States of America
115. Accountability for Armed Contractors
- Author:
- Ian M. Ralby
- Publication Date:
- 01-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Fletcher Security Review
- Institution:
- The Fletcher School, Tufts University
- Abstract:
- On 16 September 2007, the accountability of private armed contractors became a global concern. A team of armed guards from the US company Blackwater Worldwide, operating on a US State Department contract, opened fire that day in Baghdad’s Nisor Square, killing seventeen Iraqi civilians and injuring an additional twenty. It took more than seven years before four of the individuals responsible were ultimately convicted of either first degree murder or voluntary manslaughter by a jury in a U.S. Federal District Court. A fifth member of the Blackwater team had previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter.[1] The initial lack of consequences and the slow speed of justice provided the watchful world with strong evidence that armed contractors operate in a zone of legal twilight, devoid of accountability. The rise of private armed contracting was one of the most distinctive operational developments of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater, famously stated: “Our corporate goal is to do for the national security apparatus what FedEx did to the postal service.”[2] Throughout both conflicts, the hiring policies of several Western governments, particularly those of the United States, helped Blackwater and numerous other companies move toward that goal. By December 2008, for example, 69% of the United States’ total force in Afghanistan was comprised of private contractors, roughly 15% of which were armed.[3] While there are no reliable statistics on the size of the global private armed security industry, there is little doubt that it has grown and contracted with the surge and decline of Western engagement in armed conflict. New conflicts on the horizon, however, suggest the possibility of a resurgence of the industry, reigniting concerns about accountability. The proliferation of private armed security companies has coincided with a proliferation of initiatives aimed at developing accountability for the industry. Numerous codes, standards, mechanisms and proposals – developed by governments, international organizations, civil society groups, private companies, trade associations, individuals, academics and multi-stakeholder bodies – have sought to address different issues surrounding armed contractors. Most of them, however, have been developed in response to incidents that already occurred. This reactive approach to accountability, while useful for addressing past problems, may leave the industry exposed to future problems. In other words, a code, standard or mechanism set up to prevent another Nisor Square incident may be very effective in doing so, but may fail to prevent a different and even more worrying incident in the future. This article begins with a brief overview of the most credible accountability initiatives, suggesting that the resulting collection forms a patchwork, rather than a framework for governing the conduct of armed contractors. The analysis then focuses on the process of selecting contractors, with a particular emphasis on the US Government. While cost has been a key factor in determining selection, the various initiatives discussed have made it possible for accountability and quality to be added as essential metrics. Ultimately, however, the failure of the accountability initiatives to remain current, much less forward-looking, means that the objective determinants of ‘accountability and quality’ may not be fit for purpose as the US and other Western powers begin to engage the services of armed contractors for assistance in new conflicts...
- Topic:
- Security, War, Governance, Military Affairs, Regulation, and Accountability
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Iraq, Middle East, and United States of America
116. “Divine Violence” After the Kharotabad Killings
- Author:
- Syed Sami Raza
- Publication Date:
- 12-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Review of Human Rights
- Institution:
- Society of Social Science Academics (SSSA)
- Abstract:
- In 2011 the law enforcement agencies of Pakistan killed a group of foreigners traveling across Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The agencies then tried to cover up the incident by calling it a potential suicide-bombing attack. However, they could not succeed in the cover-up plan primarily due to a photograph of one of the killed aliens—a woman—that appeared on local media. In this photograph the alien woman is shown lying on the ground near a sandbag-covered check-post waving for mercy/justice. The photograph becomes viral on both electronic news and social media and impels the government to order an inquiry. In this article, I engage the concept of “divine violence” and explore the photograph’s politics of aesthetics, which I argue contextualizes the photograph’s meaning during a creative moment for human rights.
- Topic:
- Security, Politics, Terrorism, Violence, and Aesthetics
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, Afghanistan, and South Asia
117. Chad C. Serena. It Takes More than a Network: The Iraqi Insurgency and Organizational Adaptation. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2014.
- Author:
- Danny Garrett-Rempel
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
- Institution:
- Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
- Abstract:
- In his book, It Takes More than a Network: The Iraqi Insurgency and Organizational Adaptation, Chad C. Serena attempts to analyze the organizational inputs and outputs of the Iraqi insurgency in an effort to arrive at a better understanding of what part these features played in both its initial success and eventual failure. The thesis of Serena's book is that the Iraqi insurgency failed to achieve longer-term organizational goals due to the fact that many of the insurgency's early organizational strengths later became weaknesses that degraded the insurgency's ability to adapt (4). Serena employs a blend of technical analysis, in his assessment of the inner workings of complex covert networks, and empirical examples, which he draws from the insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan. This approach is successful in providing insight into the nature of the organizational adaptation of the Iraqi insurgency as well as in laying a framework for the future study of similarly organized martial groups.
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Iraq
118. Afghan (Re)Migration from Pakistan to Turkey: Transnational Norms and the 'Pull' of Pax-Ottomanica?
- Author:
- Sanaa Alimia
- Publication Date:
- 05-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Insight Turkey
- Institution:
- SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
- Abstract:
- Many Afghans, often male, in Pakistan are migrating (again) and increasingly toward 'new' destinations such as Turkey. Transnational lives are not unusual for Afghans as a method of survival, as well as a space for 'self-making'. However, these migrations are also the result of Turkey's own regional ambitions and projection of itself as a modern neoliberal 'Muslim' state. Moreover, increased migration is also a result of the historic role that cheap labor migrants, particularly from Central/South Asia, have played in the development of rising neoliberal economies. Thus in the 2000s and 2010s, as Turkey's 'star' rises, so too does Turkey find itself shifting from a migrant sending to a migrant receiving state.
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Turkey, and India
119. Drones, Risk, and Perpetual Force
- Author:
- Christian Enemark
- Publication Date:
- 09-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- How should we conceptualize the use of missile-equipped uninhabited aerial vehicles (UAVs or "drones") in the U.S. "war on terror"? If violence of this kind is to be effectively restrained it is necessary first to establish an understanding of its nature. To this end, it is useful to focus on those theatres of the war where drones are the dominant platform for violence (such as in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia), rather than where they support primarily ground-based efforts (such as in Afghanistan and Iraq). The analysis in this article is presented in two parts. The first part considers whether drone strikes are better conceptualized as acts of war or of law enforcement. If it is difficult to conceptualize drone-based violence as acts of war, then such violence may not be captured by the traditional jus ad bellum (just resort to war) framework within just war theory. And if drone strikes do not constitute a law enforcement practice, the peacetime ethics of criminal justice may not apply either. One possible solution is to develop and apply a legitimization framework of jus ad vim (just resort to force) in which vim is "force short of war," although this depends upon the sustainability of a vim/bellum distinction.
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, Afghanistan, United States, Iraq, Yemen, and Somalia
120. Reconciliation and research in Afghanistan: an analytical narrative
- Author:
- Thomas Waldman
- Publication Date:
- 09-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- This article examines the evolution of western policy towards the idea of pursuing negotiations with the Taliban, or 'reconciliation', in Afghanistan and the role that research and expert opinion played in that process. The official western position has evolved iteratively from initial rejection to near complete embrace of exploring the potential for talks. It is widely assumed that the deteriorating security situation was the sole determinant of this major policy reversal, persuading decisionmakers to rethink what had once been deemed unthinkable. Moreover, given the politicized and sensitive nature of the subject, we might expect the potential for outside opinion to influence decision-makers to be low. Nevertheless, this article demonstrates that it would be a mistake to underestimate the role that research and expert knowledge played-the story is more nuanced and complex. Research coalesced, sometimes prominently, with other key drivers to spur and shape policy change. Importantly, it often took experts to make sense of events on the ground, especially where the failure of the military approach was not recognized, understood or palatable to those in official circles. Research interacted with changing events, policy windows, the emergence of new personalities and the actions of various intermediaries to shape emerging positions. More broadly, the case of reconciliation in Afghanistan reveals the difficulties and challenges, but also the variety of opportunities and techniques, for achieving research influence in conflict-affected environments.
- Topic:
- Security and Environment
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan
121. The blue helmet blues
- Author:
- Richard Gowan
- Publication Date:
- 10-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- Imagine a dystopian future in which NATO, struggling against Islamist terrorism, has to deploy troops on a constant basis across Africa and the Middle East. Then all of a sudden it is struck by a series of calamities: more than 40 personnel are taken hostage in the Middle East, soldiers start dying on a weekly basis on the edge of the Sahara and an operation to handle an outbreak of ebola begins to spiral out of control. NATO, you might expect, would give up in exhaustion. After Afghanistan, western powers have little appetite for quagmires.
- Topic:
- NATO
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Africa, and Middle East
122. Expert view: Afghanistan
- Author:
- Michael Keating
- Publication Date:
- 10-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- This has been a roller-coaster year for Afghans. It has included vigorous presidential and provincial election campaigns, a protracted political crisis, the formation of a government of national unity, the inauguration of a president with big new ideas, a financial crunch, devastating natural disasters, widening Taliban attacks and a surge in the number of Afghans being killed. Meanwhile, the US-led International Security Assistance Force is winding down and will conclude in December.
- Topic:
- Politics
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and United States
123. Afghanistan 2001-2014: The Enduring Literature?
- Author:
- Peter Foot
- Publication Date:
- 04-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Connections
- Institution:
- Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
- Abstract:
- Do we have a problem with book publishers? Are we getting a reliable supply of material covering the ongoing war in Afghanistan — this far -too -long, post -9/11 conflict? That there are lots of books is not in doubt —but do they help chart a course for the future? Do they locate the conflict in ways that assist in defining its uniqueness from, or its commonality with, other experiences of violence? How might the available published work assist in the post -2014 phase of Afghanistan's development and the necessary engagement of the international community —define that as you will —in that country's future? The best of them appeared around 2011: ten years too late for decision makers, the result of a decade of reflection for the rest of us.
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan
124. Serving or Self-Serving? A Review Essay of Robert Gates's Memoir
- Author:
- Robert Jervis
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Political Science Quarterly
- Institution:
- Academy of Political Science
- Abstract:
- Robert Jervis reviews Robert Gates's recently published memoir, Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War. The reviewer argues that the memoir is very revealing, but inadvertently so insofar as it shows for example Gates's failure to focus on the key issues involved in the decisions to send more troops to Afghanistan and his inability to bridge the gap between the perspectives of the generals and of the White House.
- Topic:
- War
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan
125. Afghanistan from the Cold War through the War on Terror
- Author:
- Paul D. Miller
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Political Science Quarterly
- Institution:
- Academy of Political Science
- Abstract:
- If anyone has earned the right to say "I told you so," it is Barnett Rubin. One of the foremost authorities on Afghanistan, Rubin saw earlier than most the dangers emerging from that blighted land. In his work–as author of The Fragmentation of Afghanistan, an adviser to the United Nations for several years after 2001, a professor at New York University, and an adviser to the U.S. State Department's Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan from 200–Rubin worked to warn against, prevent, and mitigate the perennial crises afflicting Afghanistan and South Asia.
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, Afghanistan, United States, and South Asia
126. Afghanistan's Legacy: Emerging Lessons of an Ongoing War
- Author:
- Stephen Biddle
- Publication Date:
- 06-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Washington Quarterly
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- In an important sense, emerging debates on the war's lessons are premature. The war in Afghanistan is not over; nor is it ending anytime soon. Nevertheless, before conventional wisdom consolidates, two observations on counterinsurgency are worth considering now: whether it can work and how to approach governance reform.
- Topic:
- Security, War, Governance, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and America
127. India's Role in a Changing Afghanistan
- Author:
- Shashank Joshi
- Publication Date:
- 06-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Washington Quarterly
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- For India, the Western drawdown of forces in Afghanistan will represent the greatest adverse structural shift in its security environment for over a decade. Yet, a fundamental congruity of interests between Washington and New Delhi, and opportunities for cooperation, remain.
- Topic:
- Security, NATO, and Environment
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Washington, and India
128. India: A Reluctant Partner for Afghanistan
- Author:
- Sandra Destradi
- Publication Date:
- 06-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Washington Quarterly
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- If the West wants to harness the potential of cooperating with India in Afghanistan, it needs a better appreciation of India's engagement and motivations, as well as of New Delhi's assets and concerns about Afghanistan's future.
- Topic:
- Security and Government
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, India, and New Delhi
129. Iran's Foreign Policy in Post-Taliban Afghanistan
- Author:
- Kayhan Barzegar
- Publication Date:
- 06-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Washington Quarterly
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- Since 2001, this Iranian scholar argues, Iran has sought to establish security and stability, while advancing regional cooperation in Afghanistan. The only way to manage conflict in the post-exit era is for the West to accept the legitimacy of increased regional cooperation, including Iran's involvement.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy and Economics
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Iran, and Taliban
130. Iran's Continuing Interests in Afghanistan
- Author:
- Sumithra Narayanan Kutty
- Publication Date:
- 06-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Washington Quarterly
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- When it comes to Afghanistan's future, the United States ironically has more in common with Iran than it does with Pakistan. As Western troops draw down, a look inside Iran's enduring interests, means to secure them, unique assets, and goals that may or not conflict with other regional actors.
- Topic:
- Government and War
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United States, and Iran
131. NATO'nun Dönüsümü
- Author:
- Ali L. Karaosmanoglu
- Publication Date:
- 01-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- Berlin Duvari yikilip Sovyet/Varsova Pakti tehdidi ortadan kalktiktan hemen sonra, NATO degisen uluslararasi sisteme kendini uyarlamaya basladi. Bu süreç zor ve sorunlu olmasina ragmen, önemli basarilar kaydetti. Ama "Nato yasayabilecek mi?" sorusu hep gündemde kaldi. Bu inceleme iddiali öngörüler yerine aktörlerin egilimlerine ve ortamdaki degismelere isaret ederek bir düsünme ve tartisma zemini hazirlamanin gayreti içinde olmustur. Uluslararasi sistemdeki yapisal degisiklikleri irdeleyip, Ittifakin yeni durumlara uyum saglamak için ne gibi politikalar uyguladigini ve söz konusu dönüsümün önündeki engelleri elestirel bir yaklasimla incelemistir. Ortak siyasi iradenin olusmasinin ve askeri yapi ve stratejinin yeni sartlara uyarlanmasinin sinirlarini açikliga kavusturmaya çalismistir. Bu çerçevede askeri doktrin çalismalari ve Afganistan tecrübesi arasindaki etkilesim ve dönüsüm süreci üzerindeki etkileri ele alinmistir. Ayrica sonuç bölümünde, genisleyen Avrupa-Atlantik Bölgesindeki NATO askeri operasyonlarinin mesruiyet sorununa da deginilmistir
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan
132. The Saudi Factor in Pakistan-Iran Relations
- Author:
- Muhammad Salman Khan
- Publication Date:
- 12-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Iranian Review of Foreign Affairs
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic Research (CSR)
- Abstract:
- National interest often forms the core of bilateral ties between states. No matter how much idealism is peddled to explain the unassailability of the State's bilateral relations, the national interests and related diplomatic preferences spawn abrasion in these ties. The change of leadership is a consequence of elections results in a national reassessment of foreign policy. This paper attempts to highlight Pakistan's foreign policy dilemma regarding the walking of a tightrope between Tehran and Riyadh. It is argued that the balancing act of Islamabad in this triad is further complicated in the aftermath of 2013 general elections in Pakistan. The new Nawaz Sharif administration's unveiled connection with the Saudi Kingdom, the current tides in the Saudi-Iran-U.S. triangle, and the impending and complex drawdown of international forces from Afghanistan further confounds the trajectory of Pakistan's foreign policy, especially in the zero sum dynamics of Saudi-Iran rivalry.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, Afghanistan, United States, Iran, East Asia, Tehran, Saudi Arabia, and Riyadh
133. Collective evil and individual pathology: The depoliticization of violence against Afghan civilians
- Author:
- Harmonie Toros and Luca Mavelli
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Politics
- Institution:
- Palgrave Macmillan
- Abstract:
- This article explores how the violence against Afghan civilians carried out by the Taliban and US 'rogue' soldiers has been accounted for as the product of, respectively, collective evil and individual pathology. These two seemingly contending explanations, it is argued, are part of the same strategy of depoliticization, which aims to provide support and legitimacy for the US-led war in Afghanistan. The article discusses how the genealogy of the discourse of collective evil surrounding the Taliban can be traced to an Orientalist political theodicy, which frames the Taliban as 'children of a lesser God' – that is, as fanatical puppets at the mercy of a violent God – and how the discourse of individual pathology surrounding the unsanctioned violence of US soldiers is instrumental to exempt military and civilian leadership from collusion and responsibility. The article challenges this latter narrative of individual blame by discussing how killing, torture and desecration of bodies are at the heart of warfare. Hence, it is concluded, the language of collective evil and individual pathology are part of the same strategy of depoliticization, which aims to silence political contestation and conceal the dehumanizing aspect of war, its structural production of violence, and the complex and dispersed nature of responsibility.
- Topic:
- War
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United States, and Taliban
134. Christian Just War Reasoning and Two Cases of Rebellion: Ireland 1916-1921 and Syria 2011-Present
- Author:
- Nigel Biggar
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- The contemporary West is biased in favor of rebellion. This is attributable in the first place to the dominance of liberal political philosophy, according to which it is the power of the state that always poses the greatest threat to human well-being. But it is also because of consequent anti-imperialism, according to which any nationalist rebellion against imperial power is assumed to be its own justification. Autonomy, whether of the individual or of the nation, is reckoned to be the value that trumps all others. I surmise that it is because in liberal consciousness the word “rebel” connotes a morally heroic stance—because it means the opposite of “tyrant”—that Western media in recent years have preferred to refer to Iraqi opponents of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq and Taliban opponents of the ISAF in Afghanistan not as “rebels,” but as “insurgents.”
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Iraq, Taliban, Syria, and Ireland
135. Transnational Islamist Networks: Western Fighters in Afghanistan, Somalia and Syria
- Author:
- Emmanuel Karagiannis
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- Western Muslims have joined jihadi groups in Afghanistan/Pakistan, Somalia and Syria to defend Islam from its perceived enemies. Transnational Islamist networks have played a pivotal role in bringing them to conflict zones by fulfilling three functions: radicalisation through mosques, radical preachers, and the Internet; recruitment which can be conducted either physically or digitally; and identity formation that provides the radicalised recruits with a larger cause to fight for as members of an imagined global community. Transnational Islamist networks are multifunctional entities on the rise.
- Topic:
- Islam
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Syria, and Somalia
136. Al Qaïda / Hezbollah : la concurrence à distance entre deux logiques d'action jihadistes différentes pour la captation des cours et des esprits de l'Umma
- Author:
- Rayan Haddad
- Publication Date:
- 04-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Cultures & Conflits
- Institution:
- Cultures & Conflits
- Abstract:
- Une analyse relationnelle axée sur les logiques d'action concurrentes d' Al Qaïda 2 et du Hezbollah peut de prime abord surprendre le lecteur méconnaissant la scène moyen-orientale. Les deux parties, malgré leurs distinctions identitaires (et pas n'importe lesquelles puisque la division « sunnite / chiite » est un peu partout présentée comme la « clef de voûte analytique » d'un Orient finalement bien compliqué...), ne relèvent-elles pas finalement d'un même phénomène d'islamisme radical décrié par un grand nombre de médias contemporains ? L'approche peut de même provoquer un froncement de sourcils chez ceux qui connaissent mieux la géopolitique régionale. Malgré la similitude parfois de leur mode de violence opérationnel (« kamikaze »), la mouvance salafiste jihadiste n'est-elle pas la manifestation d'une contestation fanatique et déterritorialisée de l'ordre mondial, alors que le « parti de Dieu » s'inscrit dans l'optique de la libération (« légitime ») d'un territoire national ? Comment dès lors parler de concurrence ? Les deux parties n'ont pas les mêmes référents idéologiques (khomeynisme / salafisme), pas la même définition de leur champ d'action ni – par conséquent – la même hiérarchisation (effective et non rhétorique) de l'ennemi (Israël dans un cas, les Etats-Unis et l'Occident dans l'autre), pas les mêmes valeurs jihadistes (illégitimité / légitimité de prendre pour cible des civils occidentaux), pas la même organisation structurelle (fortement centralisée / décentralisée), et ne s'adresseraient pas a priori à un même public islamiste (localiste ou régionaliste d'une part, transnational de l'autre). En réalité, bien qu'elle soit virtuelle et à distance, l'objet de cet article est de montrer qu'il y a bel et bien dans certains cas concurrence idéologique entre le Hezbollah et Al Qaïda au niveau de la captation des cours et des esprits d'une audience panislamique mondiale, conduisant (peut-être parfois) à une logique de mimétisme, mais surtout à des stratégies de distinction entre les deux parties. Cette concurrence a pour toile de fond un contexte moyen-oriental où les sentiments anti-impérialistes battent son plein, et où l'on observe un processus de réactivation d'identités religieuses transfrontalières questionnant la légitimité de l'ordre régional. Nous proposons de présenter tout d'abord les contextes respectifs d'émergence des contestations khomeynistes et salafistes jihadistes.
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan
137. ¿Guerra total y/o fuerza mínima? Historia y paradojas de "los corazones y los espíritus"
- Author:
- Christian Olsson
- Publication Date:
- 04-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Cultures & Conflits
- Institution:
- Cultures & Conflits
- Abstract:
- "Cada vez que los incidentes de guerra obligan a uno de nuestros oficiales a actuar contra una población [...], no debe olvidar que su primera preocupación, una vez que se haya obtenido la sumisión de sus habitantes, ha de ser la de reconstruir dicha población, crear un mercado, construir una escuela. La pacificación del país y, más tarde, la organización que se le ha de otorgar, han de resultar de la acción de la política y de la fuerza". General Gallieni, instrucciones fundamentales del 22 de mayo de 1898 en Madagascar.
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Iraq
138. La métamorphose du guerrier
- Author:
- Massimiiliano Guareschi and Maurizio Guerri
- Publication Date:
- 04-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Cultures & Conflits
- Institution:
- Cultures & Conflits
- Abstract:
- Il devient chaque jour plus difficile de tenter de déterminer la forme-guerre car la seule règle manifeste de la violence est de n'en avoir aucune, si ce n'est celle d'avoir lieu de manière ubiquiste, changeante, equivoque. Les visages ou les masques qu'elle assume aujourd'hui sont, tour à tour, le choc des civilisations, la guerre de religion, les opérations de police internationale, la lutte contre la terreur voire la diffusion du progrès et de la démocratie. Dans les guerres contemporaines, de nouveaux combattants se mêlent et se superposent aux anciens guerriers : soldats réguliers et irréguliers, mercenaires, agents secrets, terroristes, pirates et kamikazes. C'est pour cette raison que l'idée de tenter de déterminer les contours de la guerre à travers la figure des combattants, ceux qui risquent leur vie pour donner la mort, représente un passage difficile mais nécessaire afin de ne pas tomber dans ce que Jacques Derrida a appelé « le sommeil dogmatique », c'est-à-dire l'usage des lieux communs exploités en permanence par le journalisme et par les administrations gouvernementales qui partent toujours du présupposé que les significations respectives de « guerre » et « paix », de « démocra- tie » et de « terrorisme » sont évidentes. Si nous voulons tenter de comprendre les dynamiques actuelles, nous devons abandonner la conviction tranquillisante et très répandue selon laquelle il y a dans ces termes quelque chose de tenu pour acquis, quelque chose qui peut être abandonné au préjugé du soi-disant « sens commun ». Durant ces dernières années, des analyses approfondies de caractère juridique, politique, philosophique se sont unies à des protestations de masse pour dénoncer l'absence de clarté des termes « war » et « terrorism » dans le slogan « war on terrorism ». Cependant, malgré tout ce qu'il y a d'« obscur, de dogmatique ou de pré-critique », cela « n'empêche pas les pouvoirs prétendus légitimes de s'en servir quand cela leur semble opportun ».
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan
139. Demandez le programme ! Quelques réflexions sur l'« Extraordinary Rendition Program
- Author:
- Alain Brosset
- Publication Date:
- 04-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Cultures & Conflits
- Institution:
- Cultures & Conflits
- Abstract:
- On a vu apparaître ces dernières années, dans le vocabulaire de la contreterreur développée par l'administration des Etats-Unis, une nouvelle expression – « extraordinary rendition » – que l'on traduit généralement en français par « transferts spéciaux ». Nous allons tenter ici de poser quelques questions actuelles à propos de la souveraineté et des frontières, en partant des dispositifs et des usages que suppose cette notion.
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan
140. Structures, environnement et basculement dans le jihadisme
- Author:
- Luis Martinez
- Publication Date:
- 04-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Cultures & Conflits
- Institution:
- Cultures & Conflits
- Abstract:
- Comment expliquer l'attrait pour le courant jihadiste de certains jeunes musulmans en France ? Cet article montre comment se construit la justification de la radicalisation et les étapes qui rendent légitime le passage à l'acte violent. Le processus de justification du passage à l'acte violent - à l'attentat-suicide par exemple - s'inscrit dans un contexte qu'il faut comprendre : quelles sont « les structures sociales et organisationnelles qui peuvent promouvoir dans un moment donné, l'attentat-suicide ? ». Aussi, l'analyse du basculement dans la violence doit-elle recontextualiser les engagements et les trajectoires individuelles, car l'environnement dans lequel se construit le processus de justification apparaît comme déterminant. Le basculement dans la violence n'est pas le produit d'une frustration ou d'un symptôme psychologique. L'attentat-suicide, par exemple, est un véritable instrument de guerre. Il a un sens, répond à une logique et s'inscrit dans une finalité : un territoire à libérer, une communauté à reconquérir . Les entretiens réalisés auprès de jeunes musulmans d'origine nord-africaine permettent ici de souligner comment se construit la justification du passage à l'acte violent ; ils permettent aussi de comprendre que, pour que l'acte violent se réalise, des conditions générales et structurelles sont nécessaires, sans quoi la justification du passage reste de l'ordre du discours.
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and America
141. L'impact de la « participation musulmane » sur le mouvement altermondialiste en Grande-Bretagne et en France
- Author:
- Timothy Peace
- Publication Date:
- 04-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Cultures & Conflits
- Institution:
- Cultures & Conflits
- Abstract:
- Depuis 2001, en France comme en Grande-Bretagne, les « musulmans » et les associations qui les représentent ont été amenés à participer à plusieurs occasions au mouvement altermondialiste. On a notamment pu le constater lors des Forum sociaux européens (FSE) qui se sont tenus dans les capitales de ces deux pays. Cet engagement s'étant récemment affaibli, il est possible d'y voir un cas d'« altermondialisme oublié ». On a souvent pointé ces pays en raison de leur attitude divergente vis-à-vis de leurs minorités respectives et sur la place qu'y occupe la religion dans la sphère publique. Ces deux cas offrent donc aux chercheurs l'opportunité d'étudier comment ces différentes conceptions affectent les mouvements sociaux et leurs participants. Nous souhaitons montrer dans cet article que l'élément le plus notable de cette mobilisation musulmane est l'impact de celle-ci sur des mouvements altermondialistes euxmêmes et la manière dont elle a remis en question leur propre représentation de mouvements ouverts et « tolérants ». De nombreux spécialistes des mouvements sociauxont remarqué le fait que les acteurs de ces mouvements doivent souvent faire face à des dilemmes causés par le poids des identités religieuses et la difficulté de faire coexister celles-ci avec d'autres critères d'identification . Cet article cherche à mettre ces difficultés en avant, ainsi que les limites de la supposée « tolérance » des acteurs « traditionnels » de l'altermondialisme, confrontés à la participation des musulmans. Les FSE servent de lieu de rencontre et de discussion pour une myriade de groupes se réclamant de la mouvance altermondialiste. Cependant, l'événement en lui-même consiste à la fois en un forum officiel et en un « espace alternatif / autonome » agissant comme un événement annexe, composé de tous les groupes qui rejettent le processus officiel d'organisation. A l'intérieur du mouvement lui-même, on fait souvent référence à ce clivage en usant de l'expression « horizontaux contre verticaux », chacun des groupes ayant des conceptions opposées de la politique, des enjeux du FSE et du mouvement en general . Nous étudierons ici uniquement les forums officiels - en particulier ceux qui se sont tenus en région parisienne en 2003 et à Londres en 2004 - et nous ne traiterons donc que des acteurs « verticaux ».
- Topic:
- War
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and France
142. Les conséquences de la guerre contre le terrorisme sur le monde des ONG Le cas du réseau de partenaires de Cordaid à travers le monde
- Author:
- François Lenfant, Lie van Broekhoven, and Frank van Lierde
- Publication Date:
- 05-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Cultures & Conflits
- Institution:
- Cultures & Conflits
- Abstract:
- L'essor du rôle des ONG en tant qu'acteurs exerçant une influence croissante dans les relations internationales a fait l'objet de nombreuses recherches ces dix dernières années. Pour beaucoup de chercheurs, ce phénomène résulte des défaillances aussi bien du secteur public (gouvernement) que privé (marché). Ces défaillances sont d'autant plus manifestes dans les nombreuses situations de crises humanitaires où les ONG, aussi bien locales qu'internationales, se sont vu attribuer de plus en plus de responsabilités. Dans de telles situations, le rôle qui leur est désormais dévolu inclut non seulement la protection des personnes et la prévention d'abus à leur encontre, mais aussi la mise en place de mécanismes d'alerte et le plaidoyer pour les droits de la personne, la socialisation et le renforcement de la cohésion sociale, la médiation, les activités de consolidation de la paix, etc. L'interpénétration des domaines de l'humanitaire, du développement et de la transformation des conflits a été finement analysée par Mary Anderson. À ses yeux, l'aide humanitaire ne doit pas seulement être fournie de façon responsable afin de minimiser son impact sur le conflit, mais elle doit aussi réduire les tensions entre combattants. Cette extension des activités des ONG dans des domaines que l'on peut qualifier de politiques rend encore plus complexes et ambiguës les relations déjà tendues que les ONG, aussi bien nationales qu'internationales, entretiennent avec les gouvernements. En effet, ces derniers ont tendance à appliquer une définition restrictive de l'humanitaire, ce qui leur permet de mettre en question la légitimité des ONG à intervenir hors de ce cadre prédéfini. Suite aux nombreuses crises humanitaires des années 1990 qui ont mis en exergue les déficiences inhérentes à une stricte application du droit international humanitaire dans la protection des populations, les ONG ont reconstruit leur légitimité en s'appuyant sur un système de valeurs morales inspirées de la déclaration universelle des droits de l'homme. Néanmoins, que leur légitimité soit fondée sur un socle normatif légal ou moral, les ONG travaillant dans des situations de conflit sont confrontées à de nombreux dilemmes, en particulier celui qui renvoie à leur positionnement vis-à-vis des gouvernements. Cette tension qui caractérise les relations entre gouvernements et ONG en ce qui concerne la définition et le champ d'intervention de l'humanitaire a été exacerbée par le contexte de la « guerre contre le terrorisme ».
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan
143. Valider la guerre : la construction du régime d'expertise stratégique
- Author:
- Christophe Wasinski
- Publication Date:
- 05-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Cultures & Conflits
- Institution:
- Cultures & Conflits
- Abstract:
- La guerre est malheureusement loin d'avoir disparu du paysage international . Après la fin de la guerre froide, les forces armées ont continué à se préparer à ce phénomène comme l'ont bien montré, au cours des années 1990 et au début des années 2000, les projets de Révolution dans les Affaires Militaires ou de Transformation aux Etats-Unis. Plus encore, de nombreuses armées se sont régulièrement impliquées dans des opérations guerrières diverses comme en Irak en 1991, au Kosovo en 1999, en Afghanistan depuis 2001 et encore en Irak depuis 2003. Comme l'ont pourtant noté Keith Krause et Michael C. Williams, de façon étonnante et en dépit de sa prégnance, la violence guerrière reste sous-théorisée par les recherches interprétatives en relations internationals.
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Kosovo
144. La volontè de rèprimer
- Author:
- Christophe Wasinski
- Publication Date:
- 05-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Cultures & Conflits
- Institution:
- Cultures & Conflits
- Abstract:
- Le présent texte doit tout d'abord s'envisager comme une prise de position par rapport à l'actualité internationale de ces dernières années. Nous entendons effectivement poser un regard critique à l'encontre de la redécouverte des (fort acclamées) doctrines militaires contre-insurrectionnelles, en particulier dans le contexte des guerres en Irak et en Afghanistan. Pour ce faire, notre analyse cherche à contribuer au travail d'analyse généalogique de l'utilisation des forces armées dans la répression de troubles politiques internes. L'analyse généalogique permet en effet d'aborder la répression militarisée comme une norme soutenue par des réseaux d'individus qui reproduisent des pratiques, formalisent et perpétuent des savoirs et sont à l'origine d'institutions spécifiques. Par cette approche, le fait que la répression militarisée est considérée comme a priori pensable sur le plan social et faisable au niveau technique doit être appréhendé comme le résultat d'un régime de véridiction tout à fait particulier et non comme un « fait naturel ». Ce régime participe donc à une forme d'essentialisation de l'idée d'utilité technique de l'em-ploi de forces militaires et paramilitaires à l'intérieur d'un État. Il contribue aussi à lui donner une forme qui, malgré tout, évolue dans le temps et l'espace (on parle ainsi de « guerre coloniale », « guerre révolutionnaire » ou encore « contre-insurrection »). Au final, l'un des objectifs de la méthode généalogique est donc de rendre problématique ce qui semble aller de soi, c'est-à-dire, dans le contexte de cette étude, le fait que des États utilisent leurs forces armées dans le but de réprimer certaines contestations. Enfin, nous garderons à l'esprit, tout au long de cette analyse, que ce régime a des effets politiques puissants. D'une part, il donne aux décideurs politiques une justification essentielle quant à l'emploi des forces armées au niveau interne. D'autre part, il est capable de radicaliser dramatiquement les enjeux politiques de la contestation sociale par la diffusion de grilles de lecture de type ami-ennemi à des populations entières.
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan
145. Talking to the Taliban 2010 – 2011: A Reflection
- Author:
- Marc Grossman
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- PRISM
- Institution:
- Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
- Abstract:
- When then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asked in early 2011 if I would become the United States' Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan (SRAP) – after the sudden death of Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, the first SRAP– she described the foundations Ambassador Holbrooke had laid to manage one of the most challenging tasks facing the nation. Secretary Clinton also said that she wanted to continue the experiment: having the SRAP organization prove that the "whole–of–government" philosophy– the idea that the United States must employ expertise and resources from all relevant parts of government to address the nation's most important challenges –was the right model for 21st century diplomacy.2 The SRAP team brought together experts from across the U.S. Government (and included several diplomats from NATO countries) to develop and implement integrated strategies to address the complex challenges in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the region.
- Topic:
- NATO
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan and Afghanistan
146. Putting State Legitimacy at the Center of Foreign Operations and Assistance
- Author:
- Bruce Gilley
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- PRISM
- Institution:
- Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
- Abstract:
- It is a commonly expressed idea that a key goal of intervention in and assistance to foreign nations is to establish (or re-establish) legitimate political authority. Historically, even so great a skeptic as John Stuart Mill allowed that intervention could be justified if it were "for the good of the people themselves" as measured by their willingness to support and defend the results. In recent times, President George W. Bush justified his post-war emphasis on democracybuilding in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere in the Middle East with the logic that "nations in the region will have greater stability because governments will have greater legitimacy." President Obama applauded French intervention in Mali for its ability "to reaffirm democracy and legitimacy and an effective government" in the country
- Topic:
- Government
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Iraq, and Middle East
147. Rules of Engagement and Abusive Citizens
- Author:
- Amitai Etzioni
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- PRISM
- Institution:
- Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
- Abstract:
- The time has come to draw lessons from the war in Afghanistan. One major concern is how the U.S. military ought to deal with civilians who are sporadic combatants, and civilians who act, part of the time, as support forces for combatants (by serving as intelligence agents, manufacturing ammunition and bombs, supplying provisions and transportation, and so on). Discussion of this topic has often focused on ways to deal with those civilians after they have been caught fighting us and whether they should be treated as soldiers or as criminals, a matter that has not been resolved. (My own position is that they should be treated as a third category: as terrorists, subject to distinct rules and authority.)2 This article focuses on an earlier phase: when these civilians are still acting as combatants or supporting them.
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan
148. Confronting the Threat of Corruption and Organized Crime in Afghanistan: Implications for Future Armed Conflict
- Author:
- Tim Sullivan and Carl Forsberg
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- PRISM
- Institution:
- Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
- Abstract:
- As the conflict in Afghanistan has evolved over the last decade, it has become apparent that of the many challenges the country and its international partners face, few are as complex, pervasive, and threatening as corruption and organized crime. Together, corruption and organized crime have undermined efforts to build Afghan institutions, consolidate security gains, achieve political progress, encourage economic growth, and set conditions for enduring stability. These problems, however, are not unique to the war in Afghanistan. Conflicts elsewhere in recent decades have revealed that states engaged in or emerging from insurgencies and civil wars—especially those in which institutions are weak, rule of law is minimal, and substantial international resources have been injected with inadequate oversight—are particularly susceptible to the proliferation of corruption and organized crime.
- Topic:
- Corruption
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan
149. Women and Wars
- Author:
- Kristen A. Cordell
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- PRISM
- Institution:
- Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
- Abstract:
- Carol Cohn's December 2012 anthology Women and Wars uses descriptions of the varied roles of women during conflict to push forward an agenda for full inclusion of their perspective in securing the peace. Women and Wars fills the vacuum left by the "women as victims" approach that characterized the early 2000's, with a diverse array of options for understanding the roles and perspectives that women have during conflict, including: soldiers, civilians, caregivers, sex workers, refugees and internally displaced persons, anti-war activists, and community peacebuilders.
- Topic:
- Civil War and Peace Studies
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and Burundi
150. An Interview with Lieutenant General Mike Flynn
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- PRISM
- Institution:
- Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
- Abstract:
- When I looked at the intelligence system, as the Chief Intelligence Officer for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and U.S. Forces Afghanistan in 2009, I realized that for us to be successful with President Obama's new population-centric strategy we had to refocus on the right aspects of the environment. We were focused to a large degree – I would say 95 percent – on the enemy networks (e.g. Taliban, the Haqqani Network, etc.). We had tremendous fidelity on those issues because we had been studying them for years. What we quickly realized was that we had no knowledge, no real understanding of the various tribal elements within Afghanistan. We had to understand the cultures that existed, the dynamics of the type of government that we were trying to support and the population centers in which we were actually operating. We honestly did not have any deep understanding of any of that. We were trying to figure out who was who, from the local governments on up to the national government, and we did not have any captured data, information or knowledge. We did not have that real depth of understanding that we had in other places – in Iraq it took us a while to get there. Those conditions led me and two colleagues to sit down and put our thoughts together to say we needed to do something different. We needed to completely realign our focus to the population and to the build out of the Afghan National Security Forces. We outlined the color system: the red, the white, the green, and the blue. The red was the enemy; white was the population; green was Afghan National Security Forces; and blue was us. We had a really good picture of the red and the blue, but we had no picture of the green or the white, and it was really stunning. So, we decided to put our thoughts down on paper.
- Topic:
- Government and National Security
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and United States
151. Journal of Advanced Military Studies: Fall 2014
- Author:
- David Zvijac, Jason J. Morrissette, Douglas A. Borer, and Brian J. Ellison
- Publication Date:
- 09-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Advanced Military Studies
- Institution:
- Marine Corps University Press, National Defense University
- Abstract:
- In Marine Corps Vision & Strategy 2025, the 34th Commandant of the Marine Corps, General James T. Conway, laid out his vision of the Corps: “Marines must be agile, capable of transitioning seamlessly between fighting, training, advising, and assisting—or performing all of these tasks simultaneously. . . . Future operational environments will place a premium on agile expeditionary forces, able to act with unprecedented speed and versatility in austere conditions against a wide range of adversaries.” Just as the nature of warfare has changed over time, so too has our need to assess future operations and the ever-evolving environment in which our forces must act.
- Topic:
- Security, Agriculture, Water, and Military Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, China, South Asia, Korea, and United States of America
152. A Temporary Marriage of Convenience: Transnational Jihadists in Proxy Warfare
- Author:
- Daveed Gartenstein-Ross
- Publication Date:
- 06-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Fletcher Security Review
- Institution:
- The Fletcher School, Tufts University
- Abstract:
- Cecily G. Brewer of the U.S. Department of State defines proxy wars as “inter-state conflicts fought via intra-state means.” She notes that traditionally in such conflicts, “the intra-state symptoms of the conflict draw attention,” while the inter-state driver — the support an actor receives from outside the country — “is ignored.” A prototypical example, albeit one where outside support given to the non-state actors at the heart of the conflict has received copious attention, is the Afghan-Soviet war. Not only did the Afghan mujahedin force the powerful Soviet Union to withdraw from Afghanistan following a costly and humiliating defeat, but the conflict also gave birth to the preeminent transnational jihadist group, al-Qaeda. This article examines how proxy warfare functions in the context of jihadist groups that share al-Qaeda’s transnational outlook, arguing that they create more difficulties for the state attempting to exploit them than do traditional proxies. Pakistan’s policies, and the resulting costs inflicted upon the Pakistani state, provide a powerful case study in the dangers involved in relying on jihadist proxies. The Afghan-Soviet war was a key event in shaping Pakistan’s self-destructive use of proxies. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 quickly became notorious throughout the Muslim world. The invasion triggered stiff resistance from Afghan mujahedin, and encouraged both state and non-state actors to support the various mujahedin factions. In the Cold War context, the United States perceived the Soviet invasion as an opportunity to give the U.S.S.R. its own Vietnam War, according to President Carter’s national security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski.[2] The mujahedin thus became a proxy of the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, each with their own somewhat divergent interests in supporting these factions. The largest U.S. covert aid program since Vietnam, with American support (totaling around $3 billion) matched dollar for dollar by Saudi Arabia, flowed to the anti-Soviet fighters. American and Saudi aid was routed through Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence directorate (ISI).
- Topic:
- Security, Cold War, Conflict, Transnational Actors, Jihad, and Proxy War
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Soviet Union, and United States of America
153. Multiplayer Great Game: 19th Century Maneuvers on the Chessboard of Afghanistan
- Author:
- Peter John Brobst
- Publication Date:
- 06-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Fletcher Security Review
- Institution:
- The Fletcher School, Tufts University
- Abstract:
- Nineteenth and early twentieth century strategists of the British Empire called their long struggle for mastery in the borderlands of Central and South Asia the ‘Great Game. Their Russian adversaries styled it the ‘Tournament of Shadows’. Each phrase tends to elide as much as it evokes. The Boy’s Own flair obscures, even diminishes, the underlying geopolitics and high stakes involved. Nothing less was at issue, at least from the British point of view, than the balance between global sea power, on one side, and consolidated land power based in the heart of Eurasia on the other. War between the principals frequently seemed in the offing. It erupted in the Crimea in 1854. However, as suggested by the phrase ‘Tournament of Shadows’, the competition between Britain and Russia over Asia and the Middle East played out largely through indirect means. Proxy warfare figured prominently in the informal imperialism of the Great Game. For their part, the British relied heavily on their time-tested, European strategy of ‘guineas and gunpowder’— subsidies and arms transfers — to delineate spheres of influence, buffer states, and ‘anti-routes’ in the marches of India. Lines of clientage were blurred if not invisible. This afforded plausible deniability, but the advantage was double-edged. Abdur Rahman, Afghanistan’s ‘Iron Amir’ between 1882 and 1901, offers a prime example of the dilemma. His internal wars to consolidate the Afghan state, assisted by British subsidies, helped to staunch the subcontinent’s northern frontier against Russia; they also rattled nerves in British India and a host of its smaller client states in the mountainous reaches west of the upper Indus.
- Topic:
- Imperialism, History, Proxy War, and Great Game
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, South Asia, and Central Asia
154. Princes, Patriots and Proxies: Great Power Politics and the Assertion of Afghan National Sovereignty
- Author:
- C. M. Wyatt
- Publication Date:
- 06-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Fletcher Security Review
- Institution:
- The Fletcher School, Tufts University
- Abstract:
- Despite the well-worn cliché, the relationship between proxy and sponsor is seldom as simple as that between puppet and master. Overlooking internal trends and ruptures, an outside great power may find itself incapable of maintaining the careful balance that ensured its dominance. Actors within a proxy state who have become independent from a sponsor’s largesse may be prepared to strike out on their own when shifts in world politics provide an opportunity. Modern Afghanistan is currently caught up in a struggle that will determine both the shape of the state and its relationships with outside powers, once the dust of recent decades of upheaval settles. Those inside and outside the state considering the wisdom of re-forging old bonds or establishing new ones would do well to consider the lessons of an earlier period of Afghan history, the “Great Game”, when the British began losing control of Afghanistan due to that state’s shifting internal dynamics, and subsequently choose to give up the struggle due to major shifts in their own external calculations. Afghanistan’s status as a regional British proxy began to unravel during the latter stages of the reign of Amir Habibullah Khan. Afghanistan’s foreign relations since 1880 had been controlled by the Government of India, which was an instrument of the British government led by an appointed viceroy and responsible for the empire’s policies on India’s neighborhood. Habibullah maintained his father’s policy of accepting that arrangement. This policy was opposed by both conservatives at court, who were anti-British, and modernizers, who wanted outright independence. At times the interests of the two camps coincided and at others they did not. Their positions on foreign policy evolved based on the ways they saw the world, which were also reflected in domestic politics. Before the Afghan state could promote an independent foreign policy, a shift at the domestic level that undermined support for the British had to take place...
- Topic:
- Imperialism, Sovereignty, History, Power Politics, and Great Game
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and South Asia
155. Peace Talks with Taliban: Expectations, Realities and Way Forward
- Author:
- Attiq ur-Rehman
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- South Asian Studies
- Institution:
- Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
- Abstract:
- The prodigious campaign of Taliban has emerged as the gravest threat to political stability, social harmony, and economic growth of Pakistan while weakening the contemporary political, social and economic structure of the country. In this way, the combination of religious orthodox and Islamic militancy has emerged as one of the potential challenges for Islamabad. The growing Islamic vigilance in the form of Taliban has forced the Nawaz administration of Pakistan to overcome the threatening Taliban campaign which has reached into its zenith, and caused social, political, religious and sectarian intolerance in the country. Therefore, the leading decision makers of Islamabad decided to arrange a peace talk with Taliban. The optimistic behaviour of Nawaz government prefers to adopt an irrational policy instead of calculating the hard-core realities associated to the Taliban, which is an ideological phenomenon rather than a force of clerically devoted combatants. In order to accelerate a dialogue based peace process with Taliban, it is essential to comprehend the combination of cleric and political creeds inherited in Talibanization. Abandoned fighting force of Taliban is seeking adequate and persistently dispassionate approach rather than a counterfeit talk policy. Therefore, the central theme of the research tries to define the level of incompatibility between estimated expectations and ground realities while forecasting the applicable and implementable way forward.
- Topic:
- Security, Economics, Politics, Taliban, Drones, Peace, Political Extremism, and Instability
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, Afghanistan, and South Asia