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Begin New Search Political Geography Tajikistan Content Type Working Paper

1. Porosity of Tajik-Afghan Border Making Beijing’s Involvement in Region More Ominous

Author:
Paul A. Goble
Publication Date:
02-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Jamestown Foundation
Abstract:
In most parts of the world, the lines on maps separating countries are true borders. That is, they are controlled by the governments on one or both sides. But in some places, they remain the quasi-open frontiers they were in the past or have reemerged as such because of recent political changes; those borders are highly porous zones, where people and goods can move more or less freely in one or both directions without much regard to the powers that be. Such situations invite outside involvement that can ramp up quickly and disturb preexisting international arrangements. One poignant example is the adjoining border area shared by Tajikistan and Afghanistan. In recent years, that frontier has attracted attention because of the danger that Islamist militants from Afghanistan could cross it to move north into Tajikistan and beyond. But another danger is emerging: China is establishing increasing control over Tajikistan and, thus, is putting itself in a position to project power southward from Tajikistan into Afghanistan. If Beijing does so, that could fundamentally change the security situation and geopolitical balance in Central and South Asia as a whole.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Territorial Disputes, and Borders
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, China, South Asia, Central Asia, Asia, and Tajikistan

2. Social Accountability in Tajikistan: Enchancing Trust Between Communities and Water Service Providers

Author:
Oxfam Publishing
Publication Date:
03-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Tajikistan was one of the first countries that signed up for the Global Partnership for Social Accountability (GPSA). Oxfam’s strategy on social accountability in the country focuses in three aspects: constructive engagement, enhancing trust through the Community Advisory Boards (CABs), and promoting women’s engagement. The programme has generated strong commitment from the government, communities and water services providers.
Topic:
Water, Infrastructure, Governance, Accountability, and Community
Political Geography:
Central Asia, Asia, and Tajikistan

3. Governance in Tajikistan: Evaluation of the Women Smallholder Farmer Advocacy Campaign

Author:
Clay Westrope
Publication Date:
06-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
This evaluation is presented as part of the Effectiveness Review Series 2015/16, randomly selected for review under the good governance thematic area. This report documents the findings of a qualitative impact evaluation, carried out in May 2016. The evaluation used process tracing to assess the effectiveness of the GROW campaign in Tajikistan. In an effort to complement agricultural value chain programming implemented by a variety of organisations in the Khatlon region of Tajikistan, Oxfam GB (OGB) integrated aspects of its global advocacy campaign, GROW. The GROW campaign takes a multi-pronged approach to the multi-faceted issue of global food insecurity by focusing on a diversity of causes, including climate change, land reform issues, industrial farming, and private sector policies. In Tajikistan, the campaign team selected contextually relevant key issues to guide its advocacy activities, including climate change, land reform, and water availability with a focus on women smallholder farmers as the key agricultural producers. OGB did this through trainings, workshops, round tables, and highly visual events integrated with previous and currently existing programming. In Tajikistan, the GROW Campaign was implemented in a distinctive way by leveraging synergies between previous, existing, and future programming both directly and tangentially related to the main themes of the campaign. Rather than serving as a standalone campaign, GROW served as a platform from which to promote, influence, and advocate on issues through related projects being implemented on the ground.
Topic:
Agriculture, Gender Issues, Governance, Feminism, Rural, Farming, and Empowerment
Political Geography:
Central Asia, Asia, and Tajikistan

4. Water Pressures in Central Asia

Publication Date:
09-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
Water has long been a major cause of conflict in Central Asia. Two states – Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan – have a surplus; the other three say they do not get their share from the region's great rivers, the Syr Darya and Amu Darya, which slice across it from the Tien Shan, Pamir Mountains, and the Hindu Kush to the Aral Sea's remains. Pressures are mounting, especially in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The population in Central Asia has increased by almost ten million since 2000, and limited arable land is being depleted by over-use and outdated farming methods. Extensive corruption and failing infrastructure take further toll, while climate change is likely to have long-term negative consequences. As economies become weaker and states more fragile, heightened nationalism, border disputes, and regional tensions complicate the search for a mutually acceptable solution to the region's water needs. A new approach that addresses water and related issues through an interlocking set of individually more modest bilateral agreements instead of the chimera of a single comprehensive one is urgently needed.
Topic:
Agriculture, Treaties and Agreements, Bilateral Relations, Natural Resources, and Water
Political Geography:
Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan

5. The Rahmon Phenomenon: New Challenges for Tajikistan's Long-Standing President

Author:
Alexey Malashenko and Aziz Niyazi
Publication Date:
05-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
Emomali Rahmon's reelection as president of Tajikistan in 2013 testifies to his regime's stability and its capacity for self-preservation. He now faces a number of complex tasks, which include undertaking economic reforms, counteracting religious smism, and resolving conflicts with neighboring countries. It is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain a high degree of stability under these conditions.
Topic:
Security, Economics, Religion, Governance, and Reform
Political Geography:
Central Asia and Tajikistan

6. Bringing clarity to troubled waters: How Oxfam is facilitating change in water and sanitation management in Tajikistan

Author:
Ghazi Al Kilani and Caroline Berger
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
In Tajikistan, water is a key resource in emergencies, and for irrigation and drinking water, yet its management is chaotic, which often leads to breakdowns in water supply systems. Many communities have resorted to taking drinking water directly from irrigation canals and rivers. Oxfam has been working for nearly three years with the government and key water sector players to tackle long-standing problems with rural water supplies. We are helping communities achieve sustainable access to drinking water and sanitation, and to challenge decision makers on water issues.
Topic:
Agriculture, Health, and Water
Political Geography:
Central Asia and Tajikistan

7. How to get out of Afghanistan: NATO's withdrawal through Central Asia

Author:
Heidi Reisinger
Publication Date:
06-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
NATO's decision to withdraw combat troops from Afghanistan has forced the Alliance to think long and hard about the "how" associated with such a withdrawal. As a result the strategic importance of the five Central Asian states Kazakhstan, Kyrrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, a politically neglected region, mostly seen as a supplier of raw materials and energy, is likely to increase significantly. During the past ten years the ISAF mission has focused its attention on Afghanistan itself. The only neighboring country taken into serious consideration has been Pakistan, as emblematically shown in the US AfPak policy approach. North of Afghanistan, the Central Asian states have been left on the sidelines and their strategic and political role has been underestimated. However, they are now back on the political agenda as an indispensable transit ground.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, NATO, and Natural Resources
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Afghanistan, United States, Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Asia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan

8. Central Asia's Crisis of Governance

Author:
Philip Shishkin
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Asia Society
Abstract:
Located in a strategically important neighborhood amid China, Russia, Afghanistan, and Iran, and sitting atop vast deposits of oil, gas, gold, and uranium, post-Soviet Central Asia is home to some 50 million people living in five countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan . For centuries, the region has drawn the attention of the world's superpowers as they seek leverage over their foes, access to natural resources, or a base from which to influence adjacent regions . For just as long, the societies of Central Asia have been beset by lackluster and often abusive rule, first by warring and insular feudal chiefs, then by colonial conquerors from Russia, and then by their Soviet successors .Since gaining independence from the Soviet Union 20 years ago, the five Central Asian republics have struggled to find viable governance models and to place their economies, long moored to Moscow, on stable footing.
Topic:
Corruption, Development, Human Rights, Islam, Governance, and Self Determination
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Russia, China, Iran, Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan

9. Scaling Up Development Interventions: A Review of UNDP's Country Program in Tajikistan

Author:
Johannes F. Linn
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
This study reports on a review of the United Nations Development Programmed' s (UNDP) country program in Tajikistan in terms of how it addresses the opportunities and challenges to scale up successful development interventions. It assesses to what extent the UNDP pursued well-articulated scaling up pathways in its overall program and in specific project areas, including its communities development program, its AIDS/HIV, tubercu¬losis and anti-malaria program, its support for aid coordination, its disaster risk management program and its energy and environment program. The study concludes that UNDP has incorporated key elements of a scaling up approach in its Tajikistan program, but also identifies additional ways to develop a more systematic approach to scaling up. This study is part of a broader program of research and analysis carried out under the auspices of the Brookings Global Economy and Development Program.
Topic:
Development, United Nations, and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:
Central Asia and Tajikistan

10. Climate change: Beyond coping. Women smallholder farmers in Tajikistan

Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Evidence from scientific research and from previous qualitative research into the experiences of farmers in Tajikistan makes it clear that climate change is already impacting the country and the lives of people from rural Tajikistan.
Topic:
Agriculture, Climate Change, Environment, and Food
Political Geography:
Central Asia and Tajikistan