Suchergebnisse

The Kurdish Civil War between the military forces of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) began in 1994. Despite frequently occurring peace talks throughout the conflict, negotiations failed to bring about a durable settlement until the United States brokered the Washington Peace Agreement in 1998. This research explores why the earlier negotiations were unsuccessful, and whether it was only the US mediation in 1998 which made the difference. Although the US mediation was clearly an important factor, by employing the contingency model this research argues that both contextual variables and process variables determined the success of negotiations in 1998. Furthermore, they can explain the failure of the previous 4 years of negotiations.

The Taliban 2.0 have made overtures to states across different regions to seek international recognition. In a departure from their past isolationist foreign policy practices, I argue the Taliban have expediently, yet uncharacteristically, pursued these initiatives in a spirit of "pragmatism." The modus vivendi they have reached with Iran demonstrates the Taliban's unprecedented prioritization of pragmatism over ideology. I draw upon Machiavellian pragmatism in International Relations theory to examine the shift in the Taliban's political posture through the lens of Iran–Afghanistan relations in three crucial episodes: the Taliban's rule over Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, the post-9/11 Afghanistan, and the resurgence of the Taliban since August 2021.

This article explores the proposition that India will become the world's next superpower. It discusses the three defining criteria of a superpower – economic strength, military might and soft power – and examines the extent to which India fulfils them in comparison with the current reigning hegemon, the United States, and potential contender China. In doing so, this article examines the favourable conditions for, and possible impediments to, India's prospects of attaining great-power status. Based on the analysis conducted, this study argues that the South Asian country's hopes of rising into the league of superpowers will ultimately be dashed if its advantageous conditions are weakened by an inability or unwillingness to address some of its most pressing problems.

The proper functioning of the government and administration of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) is taken care of by Pakistan through the successive installment of courts and a series of acts that inter alia include the 1962 Act, the 1970 Act, and the Interim Constitution Act 1974. This paper discusses power-sharing arrangements in AJK, and makes connections to asymmetrical federalism and liminality. It further dissects the matrix of the 13th amendment in the constitution of Azad Kashmir and how it changed the nature of the relationship between AJK and Pakistan. The paper also underscores the contemporary contours of state and polity in AJK and the debate on the 14th amendment.

A largely overlooked area in extant literature on farmer-herder conflict in Nigeria is coping strategies employed by internally displaced farming communities. Using exploratory design and qualitative data collection tools, we collected data from 23 purposively selected victims of farmer-herder conflict in Nasarawa State who were displaced and were either living in internally displaced persons camps or with friends/family. Findings showed that participants relied on their friends and family to cope with victimization experiences. Reported coping strategies included job switching, relocation to a safer place, formation of a vigilance group and trusting in God. The article recommends, among other things, empowering displaced populations with skills to cope with displacement challenges.

The Kurdish Civil War between the military forces of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) began in 1994. Despite frequently occurring peace talks throughout the conflict, negotiations failed to bring about a durable settlement until the United States brokered the Washington Peace Agreement in 1998. This research explores why the earlier negotiations were unsuccessful, and whether it was only the US mediation in 1998 which made the difference. Although the US mediation was clearly an important factor, by employing the contingency model this research argues that both contextual variables and process variables determined the success of negotiations in 1998. Furthermore, they can explain the failure of the previous 4 years of negotiations.

The proper functioning of the government and administration of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) is taken care of by Pakistan through the successive installment of courts and a series of acts that inter alia include the 1962 Act, the 1970 Act, and the Interim Constitution Act 1974. This paper discusses power-sharing arrangements in AJK, and makes connections to asymmetrical federalism and liminality. It further dissects the matrix of the 13thamendment in the constitution of Azad Kashmir and how it changed the nature of the relationship between AJK and Pakistan. The paper also underscores the contemporary contours of state and polity in AJK and the debate on the 14thamendment.

A largely overlooked area in extant literature on farmer-herder conflict in Nigeria is coping strategies employed by internally displaced farming communities. Using exploratory design and qualitative data collection tools, we collected data from 23 purposively selected victims of farmer-herder conflict in Nasarawa State who were displaced and were either living in internally displaced persons camps or with friends/family. Findings showed that participants relied on their friends and family to cope with victimization experiences. Reported coping strategies included job switching, relocation to a safer place, formation of a vigilance group and trusting in God. The article recommends, among other things, empowering displaced populations with skills to cope with displacement challenges.

This article aims to conceptualize political relations in Bangladesh by building a descriptive model of these relations. It draws on the concept of segmentary opposition developed by Evans-Pritchard in his study of the Nuer political system and on the concept of vertical integration used in the study of both industrial relations and party structures in federal states. It is argued that the structure of political relations in Bangladesh is based on the interaction of the logic of segmentary opposition and of vertical integration under leader-based groups. The descriptive model is then applied to two cases, based on qualitative fieldwork in Dhaka and Chittagong, to further clarify the model and illustrate its use as an analytical tool.

This article examines a progressive moment under apartheid referred to retrospectively as 'the Durban moment' by activists. By exploring the friendship of assassinated activists Stephen Bantu Biko and Richard Turner, the paper calls for a nuanced assessment of the rich context of the emergence of Black Consciousness under apartheid, and shows how the rigid racial and ethnic categories imposed by the state could be challenged by creative and resourceful intellectuals. The paper draws on interviews, writings produced at the time, court transcripts and the secondary literature to argue that Black Consciousness was intimately linked on many levels to this progressive 'moment' in South Africa under apartheid, which has resonances for activists still today.

This article describes the experiences of Mandarin-speaking immigrant parents – an understudied population – raising a child with autism in the United States. Using purposive sampling, semi-structured interviews were conducted with four sets of parents and two mothers of children with autism. The interviews were transcribed and translated verbatim and analyzed using content analysis. Three main themes regarding parents' experiences were derived from the data: immigration and cultural accommodation; impact of autism and cognitive response; and outlook for the future. Implications for developing cultural competency to serve culturally and linguistically diverse populations were discussed. It is suggested that more cultural studies involving participants of diverse backgrounds should be conducted in further studies.

There has been a flurry of publications examining Ghana's decentralization programme since 1988 to date. None has, however, specifically focused on the creation of districts; that is, the political and geographical division of the state into smaller jurisdictions – arguably regarded as one of the key processes of decentralization. In other words, the numerous studies do not fully explain the politics of the creation of districts, which has not only been a recurring phenomenon but also a contentious and sensitive one. This paper aims at filling this lacuna by identifying the actors and discussing their interests, benefits and the tensions arising from the creation of new districts in Ghana. The lessons learnt are also highlighted.

This essay relates the Indian National Congress's struggle against British imperialism to the global politics of the mid-1930s. While contextualizing the Congress's anti-colonialism as a world view intending to combat imperial systems of exploitation, this article postulates that the foreign policy of the post-colonial Indian state originated in the Congress's anti-imperialism and anti-fascism of the 1930s. Drawing on published sources that chart policy decisions and illustrate the attitudes of leading actors in the formulation of official policy, this article hypothesizes that the principles generated by inter-war exigencies proved to be incompatible ideologies for the construction of India's post-colonial foreign policy.

This article emphasizes the shortcomings of government plans for growth and redistribution in South Africa. The paper suggests that only the organized efforts of the poor can tilt the scales and impose on the state a different development agenda, based on the need to promote the interests of the poor. After analyzing the government's Growth, Employment, and Redistribution Strategy (GEAR), the paper indicates the continued importance of the political role traditionally assumed by the trade union movement in South Africa. Efforts to resist privatization, wage moderation, electricity cuts, and unsatisfactory land reform progress, while at present are isolated and uncoordinated, may provide an answer to unsatisfactory progress in societal change.

Since 1997 arms transfers have declined by about 33%. For the period 1997-2001 the USA was the dominant supplier, accounting for nearly half of all deliveries. Russia was the second largest supplier for the period, but for 2001 Russia was the largest supplier. Taiwan was the largest recipient for 1997-2001. For 2001 the People's Republic of China was by far the largest recipient. For 1997-2001 the most important arms transfers in terms of volume were between Taiwan & the US, & China & Russia. The list of main suppliers & main recipients has changed little over the past 10 years. India & Pakistan are both major recipients of arms. They have received weapons or have weapon acquisition plans that could be destabilizing. On the other side of the scale, small imports of weapons have strongly influenced the course of the war in Sierra Leone & relations between West African countries. Competition has increased the importance of offsets, including technology transfers. The Joint Strike Fighter project may point to an unbalanced future transatlantic market. 5 Tables, 1 Figure, 5 Appendixes. Adapted from the source document.