Suchergebnisse

Traditionally the primary function of NGOs has been to mitigate the effects of war; providing humanitarian aid and protection on the peripheries of violent conflict. Recently there has been an increased focus on the impact of humanitarian aid in general, and to a lesser extent on the impact of aid on conflict and peace dynamics.

Collection of life history interviews carried out as part of the GCRF Drugs and (dis)order project in the borderlands of Nangarhar and Nimroz, Afghanistan (grant ES/P011543/1). The purpose of the interviews was to contribute to our understanding of Nangarhar's and Nimroz' turbulent history as borderland areas, bordering Pakistan and Iran respectively, from the perspective of people who live there. They portray the history of the borderland spaces, from 1978 till today, and its changing economic, social and political condition. Face-to-face interviews using a question / topic list were carried out by the Organization for Sustainable Development and Research (OSDR) with 10 people in Nangarhar and 13 in Nimroz.

Since the end of the civil war in May 2009, Sri Lanka's government has continued to consolidate the unitary state and centralize power by combining political reform, patronage, and economic development. However, two forces countering such unity and centralization became evident during the course of the year. First, tensions and contradictions associated with the simultaneous pursuit of political centralization alongside rapid economic development and liberalization. Second, there has been an intensification of external pressures to bring about a political settlement with the Tamils and to address government accountability, including its alleged involvement in war crimes.

Local elections consolidated the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration's grip on power. State-led efforts to stimulate economic growth continued with major infrastructure projects in the northeastern and southern parts of Sri Lanka. No significant progress was made toward a political settlement and reconciliation with the Tamil community, and the government came under increasing international pressure about its conduct in the last months of the civil war after the release of the United Nations Advisory Panel report.

The drugs economy has been an important part of the story of borderland transformation in Afghanistan. Because of drugs, borderlands are no longer marginal, but have become a resource to be exploited by the centre of the fragile state. This Working Paper explores the linkages between the drugs economy, borderlands and 'post conflict' state-building in Sheghnan, a remote district on the Afghan-Tajik border in the north-east Afghanistan. It does this through a fine grained historical analysis of Sheghnan. As such the paper argues that examining the frontier may throw light on processes of state formation, state collapse and 'post conflict' state-building. A focus on borderlands means taking seriously the 'politics of place' and examining the diffuse dynamics and localised projects that feed into and shape processes of state formation.

A comment on Walter Kemp's article, "Selfish Determination: The Questionable Ownership of Autonomy Movements," applauds his examination of autonomy movements in the former Soviet Union for not echoing the "greedy rebels" type of narrative that has gained attention in recent years. Kemp convincingly argues that greed & grievance play an important role, especially in borderland regions. Three border-related issues that arise from Kemp's article are explored: processes of state formation & state crisis; dynamics of greed/grievance; & the role of international intervention. It is contended that unruly borderlands are most likely when states do not provide security, representation, & welfare. State policies can lead to grievances that are mobilized by rebels motivated by greed rather than a quest for justice. Autonomy movements built around economic agendas & criminality generate policy choices that differ considerably from "grievance-based" models. Emphasis is given to the need to recognize regional & international dimensions of "frozen conflicts" in the former Soviet Union. 8 References. J. Lindroth