Suchergebnisse

This Special Issue of the SADF Working Paper Series is an outcome of a conference on 'South Asia at the Crossroads: Connectivity, Security and Sustainable Development', organised by the South Asia Democratic Forum (SADF) on 21 November 2017 at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium.

Die partielle Demontage einer Gedenktafel2 hat einen ständig schwelenden ideologischen Grundsatzstreit um die Identität und das Selbstverständnis der indischen Nation erneut entflammt. Dreh- und Angelpunkt der Diskussion ist die wohl umstrittenste und facettenreichste Figur der indischen Geschichte, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. Sein Leben und Wirken, allem voran seine literarischen Arbeiten, weisen zahlreiche paradoxe und kontroverse Phänomene auf. Seine politische Vision für ein postkoloniales Indien, manifestiert in der Sozialund Staatstheorie Hindutva, standen von Anfang an in diametralem Gegensatz zu den Verfassungsprinzipien der neu gegründeten Indischen Union. Insbesondere seine folgenreiche Definition eines Hindu, verstanden als ein zu erfüllender Kriterienkatalog für den Erwerb der Staatsbürgerschaft, führte dazu, dass er als personifizierter Antipode zu dem durch die Unabhängigkeitsbewegung unter der Führung von Mohandas Karamchand (Mahatma) Gandhi proklamierten Fundamentalkonsens der indischen Gesellschaft betrachtet wurde. Diese prinzipielle Übereinstimung bezüglich der Grundwerte der indischen Gesellschaft, dass damit implizierte Selbstverständnis der Nation und die Legitimität der darauf aufgebauten sozialstrukturellen wie politischen Organisation wird zunehmend durch verschiedene Gruppen der Gesellschaft unter Berufung auf Savarkars Hindutva in den letzten beiden Dekaden herausgefordert und in Frage gestellt. Dieses in Verbindung mit seinem Einsatz für einen militanten Aktivismus und Nationalismus zur Befreiung Indiens von der britischen Kolonialmacht rückte ihn in den Mittelpunkt des kritischen öffentlichen Diskurses.

Since India's independence (and even before) there is a growing ideological debate regarding its identity and self-understanding. The focal point of this discussion is the much-disputed and multi-faceted Indian historical figure Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (1985-1966). His life and work, and above all his literary compositions, point to numerous paradoxes and controversial phenomena, which divides the discussants basically into two essential camps. On the one side are those who see Savarkar and his socio-political vision (Hindutva) that he proclaimed as the greatest danger to the foundation of the modern, secular state, democracy, and multiculturalism. With this background, Savarkar is used as the synonym for an "anti-modern" regression, and as the ideological founder of a phenomenon that has usually been referred to as "Hindu nationalism" or "Hindu fundamentalism". This side is opposed by a second camp consisting of people who tend to see Savarkar and his perceptions of state theory as a legitimate and ambitious form of democratic self-determination. However, all these controversies about Savarkar do not take into account the philosophical tenets underlying his social and political thoughts. Both Indian as well as Western scholars have focused only on some particular fragments of his thoughts without spending the time and effort to understand his various theoretical concepts in a complex and coherent framework. Therefore, this article aims to explore the philosophical foundation of his notions and actions, and suggests crucial variables for further scientific analysis.

The Rohingya people represent an ethnic minority group in Myanmar, where the main causes for the greatest regional exodus in contemporary Southeast Asia originate. Suffering from various kinds of state persecutions and discrimination by society in general, Rohingya are often forced to flee their homes. This situation is worsened by the fact that most of the potential host states in the region are not able to take care of all the refugees and/ or are not willing to accept further waves of immigration. Moreover, regional governments start to identify Rohingya not as a sole humanitarian and refugee issue, but rather as a threat towards internal security and as a critical determinant in international relations and regional cooperation. Today, the Rohingya population is one of the most oppressed groups in the world. This paper argues that the dramatic dimension of the Rohingya's refugee crisis is a clear result of several intermingling factors which are deeply embedded in negative historical trajectories enforced by contemporary unfortunate circumstances. In general terms, the Rohingya crisis is a politically and economically driven religious conflict. Following this rationale, it is considered that the vulnerable situation of the forcefully displaced persons is getting increasingly exploited by local and global acting jihadist groups trying to destabilise the region by hijacking the cause of Rohingya.

On December 30, 2016, China once again blocked India'\s attempt to get the United Nations (UN) to list Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a terrorist. The move took place despite clear indications that the Pakistan-based JeM under the leadership of Azhar is responsible for several attacks on Indian soil, like the Parliament terror attack (2001) or the Pathankot airbase attack. In this context, it is remarkable that JeM has already been blacklisted by the 15 members of the UN Security Council (UNSC), but not the terrorist leader himself. Due to the persistent 'technical holds' enforced by China, Azhar did not get listed as a designated terrorist under the 1267/1989/2253 ISIL (Da'esh, the militant Islamic State/IS group) and Al Qaida Sanctions Committee' of the UNSC. All individuals and entities listed by this UN Committee are subject to international sanctions.

The current statements of Pakistani authorities make it seem like the country is finally experiencing a shift towards a comprehensive improvement after decades of endemic violence, political turmoil, as well as declining social and economic conditions. Several indicators are put forward to backup this proclaimed 'turnaround': Firstly, there are trends pointing towards an apparently overall positive economic development. The Pakistani Stock Exchange (PSX) provided a performance of 46 per cents in return last year. It is expected that the GDP will grow by 4.7 per cent in 2017. Furthermore, the inflation rate is on a 'moderate level' of 3.66 percent in January this year (the average rate during the last 6 decades was 7.85 percent); the consumer spending will be boosted by a burgeoning middle class and there is a 'staggering fall' of Pakistani living in poverty. Most importantly, the country is witnessing the launch and implementation of numerous Chinesesupported energy and infrastructure projects within the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a multi-billion dollar development initiative. Said Economic Corridor is getting heralded as a 'game changer' away from Pakistan's past unfortunate economic and social trajectories. Secondly, due to the fact that two-thirds of the CPEC-related projects are energy related, Pakistani officials are announcing that the country solved its energy crisis. Until now, the shortages in energy supply resulted in longlasting power cuts which severely hampered the country's economic development.

The controversial German constitutional lawyer and political theorist Carl Schmitt (1888-1985) in his well-known work 'The Concept of the Political' promotes a clear distinction between "the friend" and the "foe". This radical premise of a 'friend-foe relationship' is supposed to be the basis of all 'political' and should be applicable to all political actors. In other words, "whoever is not for us, is against us". However, such clear-cut distinctions and dichotomies are rather subjects of theoretical considerations more than concrete guidelines and/or directives for political decisions and such ideal types of (international) relations are hardly to find in reality. Despite increasing cooperation and integration worldwide, there are no doubts that the friend-foe dichotomy determined always a significant constituent in political mind-sets worldwide. Intentionally or not, there are always situations which are unfortunately requiring to consider an assessment 'who is a real friend?' and 'who is most-likely a foe?'.

"The first 'regular' transfer of power between two civilian governments in Pakistan manifested itself in the aftermath of the 2013 general elections. Many celebrated this shift as a positive sign of democratic consolidation. However, the appreciation of this allegedly 'new democratic wave' ignores the resilience of decade-old authoritarian and anti-democratic patterns. The military still dominates all significant political decision-making processes. Furthermore, due to certain requirements (to ensure security, stability and national consensus) for the implementation of the China-Pakistan-Economic Corridor (CPEC), a multi-billion USD development project, the soldiers were able to further entrench their formal role in the political-institutional setup. This seriously challenges the notion of civilian supremacy, which is unfortunate, since civilian control of the armed forces is a necessary constituent for democracy and democratic consolidation. As such one can state, that in order to guarantee a secure environment for the CPEC development, the military is expanding its power. This phenomenon significantly affects negatively the country's already unhealthily civil-military relations and civilian control over the military, while challenging the process of democratic transition initiated by the 2013 general elections."

Afghanistan is once again facing a deteriorating security situation. In Helmand, the country's largest province, the Taliban were able to make significant inroads and seriously challenge Afghan security forces. To make the situation even worse, the military successes of the Jihadist insurgent groups come at a time when the national government suffers from internal conflicts, deepening the existing rift between Afghanistan's leading political figures, President Abdullah Abdullah and the Chief Executive of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani. Considering the resurgence of the Jihadist insurgents and the fragile domestic political structure, New Delhi offered Kabul "full support for boosting Afghanistan's defence capabilities to preserve its unity and territorial integrity".

On October 18, senior members of the Afghan Taliban claimed that some rounds of informal secret peace talks between their militant organisation and the Afghan government took place in September and earlier this month in Doha, Qatar. Since 2013 the Jihadists are running a political-diplomatic office in the Gulf state, 'officially legitimised' by the movement leadership and by the blessings of Washington. Describing itself as a liaison office (for the reestablishment) of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the 'political' Taliban representation is rather an additional reason for conflict then a contribution for a peaceful settlement. Nevertheless, the Doha office of the Jihadists hosted already similar peace negotiations in the past.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor CPEC, a multi-billion dollar infrastructure investment project, is heralded as a game changer for Pakistan's economy and regional cooperation. Being a crucial part of a major development initiative led by China, known as 'One Belt, One Road' (OBOR), to connect Asia with Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the CPEC is much linked to hopes, interests, as well as regional and global geopolitics. However, such a megaproject raises numerous questions especially regarding the feasibility of its implementation, the impact on the region as well as the nature of India's position towards the endeavour. (.)

On June 23, 2016, the people of the United Kingdom of Great Britain (UK) - mostly those residing in England and Wales - held a referendum that resulted in an overall vote to leave the European Union (EU). This socalled 'BREXIT', a fusionist portmanteau of the words 'Britain' and 'exit', properly coined on the pattern of GREXIT (referring to the potential exit of Greece from the EU), clearly indicates that the European project of regional integration reached a pivotal moment in time. There is no doubt, that BREXIT will have significant impact on the economic and political trajectories of Great Britain, the EU, and on the relations of Europe with the rest of the world.

Recognizing the steadily declining political, human rights and security conditions in Bangladesh, on June 7, 2016, the European Parliament (EP) in Strasbourg held a debate on the current situation in the South Asian country. During the lively discourse, several different views were put forth by members of the European Parliament (MEPs) regarding the causes and consequences of the deterioration of the societal and political space, foremost through rising Islamism, intolerance, political radicalization in the country. Considering these different views and opinions it should not come by surprise that there were also different suggestions made as to what should be the next steps by the parliament, and what kind of political action is expected in Europe from Bangladesh political elites in general and the government in particular. Despite varying opinions on what to do, MEPs agree the current political trajectory one may observe in Bangladesh is deeply worrying.

Earlier this month, Bangladesh's security forces carried out a nationwide crackdown on radical Islamists in the country. The main part of the campaign ran over several days and included interventions by thousands of police and paramilitary personal, led to the arrest of more than 11,300 people. This security operation has to be understood in light of rising international and domestic critic regarding the apparent inaction by the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) as a wave of brutal assassinations flooded the country. The victims were secular and liberal writers and thinkers (especially bloggers), university professors, foreign aid workers, gay rights activists and religious minorities such as Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and members of the Shiite community. Subsequently, many observers were wondering if the current GoB is capable of protecting the fundamental rights -and the lives- of its citizens. However, the Sheikh Hasina's administration reacted and initiated a massive clampdown in an attempt to contain and eliminate of the Islamist threat. (.)

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a multi-billion dollar infrastructure investment project, is heralded as a game changer for Pakistan's economy and for regional cooperation more generally. As a crucial part of the major development initiative led by China, known as 'One Belt, One Road' (OBOR), to connect Asia with Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the CPEC is widely linked to hopes, interests, as well as regional and global geopolitics. However, such a megaproject also raises numerous questions, especially with regards to the feasibility of its implementation, the impact on the region and, India's stance vis-a-vis the endeavour. Therefore, this Research Paper seeks to shed light on involved interests and challenges, potential impact on regional development and makes special reference of India's role in it.