Suchergebnisse

AFGHANISTAN IS LAND-LOCKED. IT HAS POLITICALLY ACTED AS A BUFFER ZONE BETWEEN RUSSIA IN THE NORTH AND THE CONTIGUOUS POWERS OF THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT, IRAN AND THE PERSIAN GULF. THIS PAPER EXAMINES THE BACKGROUND TO THE NATURE OF AFGHANISTAN AS A LAND-LOCKED STATE AND ITS ROLE AS A BUFFER IN THE SO-CALLED "GREAT GAME" OF INTERNATIONAL GEOPOLITICS. THE HYPOTHESIS UNDER REVIEW IS THAT AFGHANISTAN REPRESENTS A MOUNTAIN FORTRESS, VIRTUALLY A RESIDUE OF TRIBAL TERRITORIES AND GEOGRAPHICAL FASTNESSES, WHICH THE RUSSIANS, PERSIANS AND BRITISH IN INDIA WERE NEVER ABLE TO CONTROL.

Maley reviews 'The Fragmentation of Afghanistan: State Formation and Collapse in the International System' by Barnett R. Rubin, 'The Search for Peace in Afghanistan: From Buffer State to Failed State' by Barnett R. Rubin, 'Heroes of the Age: Moral Fault Lines on the Afghan Frontier' by David B. Edwards, and 'The 'Ancient Supremacy': Bukhara, Afghanistan and the Battle for Balkh, 1731-1901' by J. L. Lee.

Building a homogenous and modern nation, a community of citizens within a sovereign state is a problematic issue in Africa. Everywhere, any attempt to achieve this has resulted in internal conflicts and devastation. (...) The creation of Mauritania is the evidence of the shortcomings of the colonial political projects. This country was created to serve as a buffer state. It was structured from a conglomeration of peoples whose internal organisation and way of life are completely different. (...) Increasingly, there are more and more virulent contestations which are reflected in everyday behaviours and are at the basis of identity fantasies. Inter-communal conflicts dominate the political and social scene; the needs for visibility of the social communities lead to constant and violent clashes, on a regular basis. (...) (Afr Dev/DÜI)

Examines the Taliban movement and radical Islamism, ethnic conflict, prospects for peace, and implications for Central Asian regional security; 10 articles. Contents: Afghanistan: the next phase, by Zalmay Khalilzad; Why war is going on in Afghanistan: the Afghan crisis in perspective, by Olivier Roy; Taliban's Afghanistan: looking into future, by Sreedhar; On the situation in Afghanistan, by Mariana Arunova; Peace in Afghanistan? the problem and prospects, by Maqsudul Hasan Nuri; Containing the Taliban: path to peace in Afghanistan, by Ishtiaq Ahmad; Geopolitics of an Afghan settlement, by Peter Tomsen; Could Afghanistan be a key to Asian co-operation and security? by Timur Kocaoglu; The shade of extremism over Central Asia, by Askar Aytmatov; Resisting the Taliban and Talibanism in Afghanistan: legacies of a century of international colonialism and Cold War politics in a buffer state, by Nazif Shahrani.

Argues that the official discourse of recognition in Cyprus is problematic, contradictory, & dangerous because it popularizes international principles associated with state/government recognition & perpetuates past objectifying practices that promote specific understandings of the Other. It is maintained that examining how recognition impacts the individual, & how recognition discourse functions in action, is more fruitful than addressing it from the traditional level of state/government, especially in divided societies like Cyprus. Examination of cross-ethnic contacts in the UN buffer zone reveals that they have the ability to deflate the rhetorical claims of the Greek Cypriot & Turkish Cypriot regimes even though they cannot always avoid the official frame of recognition. Although granting or denying recognition has implications for the Cyprus problem, it is argued that the rights of groups/individuals are rhetorically used as a justification for determining when & how Cypriots communicate with each other. In addition, by advancing its beliefs as neutral or scientific, the discourse of recognition in Cyprus disguises the constructed/ideological nature of the dialogue that follows from it. J. Lindroth

Globalization studies claimed that Third World immigrants flock to world cities because of changed income distributions. On this argument, the increasingly hourglass-shaped income structure of world cities, a product of global restructuring, creates self-renewing demand for skilled & unskilled workers in those very world cities. Critics have already shown that this argument neglects the intermediary role of migration networks, & that, when account is taken of these networks, a basis exists for explaining why migrations to world cities continue & even accelerate despite deteriorating economic conditions in the destinations. This paper addresses the role of ethnic economies in this perplexing process, arguing that ethnic economies buffer migrations from deteriorating economic conditions in the reception cities. This buffer expands effective demand for immigrant workers while guaranteeing pre-migrants still at home employment & housing in the destinations prior to their actual departure. Assuming continuing immigration, a given of globalization, the buffer itself is finally saturated after a lag. When combined with loss of local political toleration, which accompanies increasing poverty among migrants, the buffer's economic saturation finally diverts the migration network to lesser cities of the urban hierarchy where the process of mainstream saturation -- buffer expansion -- buffer saturation -- dispersal repeats. The durability of buffer economies in localities does not depend only on economic conditions. Local political toleration of buffer economies importantly affects the durability of the immigration buffer in any city. To this extent, immigration policy is in the hands of cities, not of states. 1 Figure, 45 References. Adapted from the source document.

Globalisation studies claimed that Third World immigrants flock to world cities because of changed income distributions. On this argument, the increasingly hourglass-shaped income structure of world cities, a product of global restructuring, creates self-renewing demand for skilled and unskilled workers in those very world cities. Critics have already shown that this argument neglects the intermediary role of migration networks, and that, when account is taken of these networks, a basis exists for explaining why migrations to world cities continue and even accelerate despite deteriorating economic conditions in the destinations. This paper addresses the role of ethnic economies in this perplexing process, arguing that ethnic economies buffer migrations from deteriorating economic conditions in the reception cities. This buffer expands effective demand for immigrant workers while guaranteeing pre-migrants still at home employment and housing in the destinations prior to their actual departure. Assuming continuing immigration, a given of globalisation, the buffer itself is finally saturated after a lag. When combined with loss of local political toleration, which accompanies increasing poverty among migrants, the buffer's economic saturation finally diverts the migration network to lesser cities of the urban hierarchy where the process of mainstream saturation - buffer expansion - buffer saturation - dispersal repeats. The durability of buffer economies in localities does not depend only on economic conditions. Local political toleration of buffer economies importantly affects the durability of the immigration buffer in any city. To this extent, immigration policy is in the hands of cities, not of states. (Original abstract)