Suchergebnisse

Examines the struggle for control of Kabul, Afghanistan, among various Afghani warlords and ethnic factions, since the fall of the communist regime in 1992; influence of regional powers. Summaries in English and Spanish p. 448 and 462.

Die grünen Blätter des Kat-Strauches, die wegen ihrer euphorisierenden Wirkung als Genuß- und Rauschmittel in Somalia sehr geschätzt werden, haben in den verschiedenen Etappen der somalischen Geschichte eine wichtige Rolle gespielt. Nicht nur während der Kolonialzeit galt ihr Genuß als Symbol der Auflehnung; sie wurden auch von den aufständischen Klans in ehemals Somaliland während ihres Befreiungskampfes gegen den Militärdiktator Siad Barre bevorzugt konsumiert. Im Zusammenhang des jüngsten Bürgerkriegs schließlich werden sie auf beiden Seiten als Droge für die Milizen von Ali Mahdi und Farah Aidid eingesetzt. Auch in wirtschaftlicher Hinsicht kommt diesem vorwiegend aus Äthiopien und Kenia importierten Rauschmittel große Bedeutung zu: enorme Gewinnspannen für alle am Handel Beteiligten, inklusive der Warlords, die die Erlöse im Waffenhandel umsetzten. Die "Umlenkung" von humanitären Hilfsgütern zum Zwecke der Investition in Kat und der reibungslos funktionierende Transport der Droge ist ein weiteres Indiz für dessen politische und soziale Relevanz in einem Land, dessen wirtschaftliche und gesellschaftliche Infrastruktur längst zusammengebrochen ist. (DÜI-Rwd)

War between great powers seems to be a thing of the past. Between developed States, this change heralds an era of postmodern conflicts which bypass armed confrontation. Other conflicts, brought about by the fragmentation and reformation of political spheres, are linked to pre-modern wars waged by warlords. But in general, wars are becoming scarcer. Are we heading for a time of peace in which conflicts might be kept under the military confrontation stage? (Politique étrangère (Paris) / SWP)

Discusses popular discontent with the regime of President Daniel arap Moi, re-elected in Dec. 1997; the power acquired by his extended family over the past 30 years and their involvement in crime, corruption in government, and other topics; Kenya; 6 articles. Summaries in English p. 171-3. Topics include control exercised by warlords over different parts of the country, demands for greater democratization through constitutional reform, struggles of the poor to survive by means of an informal economy, and the regime's encouragement of rivalry between ethnic troups.

0,4° north of the equator : sovereignty in a state of neglect.
In the regions North of the Equator, the Kenyan State has left all sovereignty to warlords who use their control of a territory to terrorise neighbours and steal their livestock. In the West, the Pokots have remained unpunished and become the unquestioned masters of the livestock theft which supplies the markets of the rebellions in Uganda and Southern Sudan. In the East, the taking of sides of the regime in the Somali conflict and the fear of the Ethiopian threat leave the way clear for the most murderous feuds between different armed factions.

Gross human rights violations are often amongst the main causes of armed conflicts. More of these abuses occur during the armed conflict itself. It is widely believed that punishing the crimes that occurred during a conflict constitutes one of the essential measures of effective conflict resolution & post-conflict peace-building. However, when no decisive victory is achieved by any party & the conflict must hence be resolved through negotiations, warlords who are responsible for some of these crimes refuse to agree on any ceasefire except on the condition of an amnesty. The main aim of this article is to find an answer to the dilemma created by this situation: achieve peace & ensure justice for the victims altogether. This paper deals with this tricky issue, focusing on three specific African countries: Liberia, Sierra Leone, & Uganda. Adapted from the source document.

International coalition troops will pull out of Afghanistan in 2014, 13 years after the launch of Operation Enduring Freedom. The achievements of these 13 years are admittedly mediocre. Often conducted outside international law and marked by blunders and abuse of detainees, the War on Terror - far from 'winning hearts and minds' as America's strategists had hoped - has instead resulted in an enduring hatred of foreign troops on the part of most Afghans. All the more so because the intervention also installed the corrupt regime of Hamid Karzai in the seat of power in Kabul. State-building has failed in a country where ethnic and religious affiliations are stronger than ever on the ground, and where the Taliban and the warlords rule. Drug production has never been higher. And while AI Qaeda has been pushed back, it has certainly not spoken its last. Would it be an exaggeration to call this a fiasco? Adapted from the source document.

For nearly 20 years now, Oleg Orlov has been chairman of the human rights center Memorial, the largest non-governmental organization in Russia. He has thus become a leading expert on Chechnya, which he has visited many times to record testimonials by its inhabitants. According to the Kremlin, the secessionist republic has now been totally "pacified," & is finally on the road to reconstruction. This is not quite true, explains Mr. Orlov in this interview. In reality, Moscow has left Chechnya in the hands of Ramzan Kadyrov, a local warlord who has laid his hands on all the republic's natural resources & squashed any challenges, without hesitating to resort to extreme measures to get rid of his denigrators. The situation in the rest of Russia is not as tragic, but a number of basic rights are still largely flouted, starting with freedom of expression & political freedom. Adapted from the source document.

Mohammad Fazal Kochai, l'un des très nombreux déserteurs de l'armée afghane supposée prendre le relais des forces étrangères, en 2014, pour endiguer les talibans, se justifie en dénonçant la corruption des officiers : « Chacun s'efforce de faire de l'argent pour se remplir les poches et construire sa maison avant le départ des Américains », s'exclame-t-il. Ce faisant, il jette une lumière crue sur l'économie politique de la crise afghane. Les études dites « postconflit » dans le jargon de la science politique, qui ont fleuri à propos de l'Afghanistan comme au sujet d'autres situations de guerre, ont souvent une vision irénique de la démobilisation : les anciens combattants, les warlords sont censés rendre les armes et se reconvertir à la vie civile grâce à des programmes de réinsertion, souvent financés par la « communauté internationale ». Fort bien. Mais c'est oublier que la guerre a fréquemment été un mode d'accumulation économique que sanctionne la paix au prix d'une validation, sinon d'une aggravation, de l'inégalité sociale.

Mohammad Fazal Kochai, l'un des très nombreux déserteurs de l'armée afghane supposée prendre le relais des forces étrangères, en 2014, pour endiguer les talibans, se justifie en dénonçant la corruption des officiers : « Chacun s'efforce de faire de l'argent pour se remplir les poches et construire sa maison avant le départ des Américains », s'exclame-t-il. Ce faisant, il jette une lumière crue sur l'économie politique de la crise afghane. Les études dites « postconflit » dans le jargon de la science politique, qui ont fleuri à propos de l'Afghanistan comme au sujet d'autres situations de guerre, ont souvent une vision irénique de la démobilisation : les anciens combattants, les warlords sont censés rendre les armes et se reconvertir à la vie civile grâce à des programmes de réinsertion, souvent financés par la « communauté internationale ». Fort bien. Mais c'est oublier que la guerre a fréquemment été un mode d'accumulation économique que sanctionne la paix au prix d'une validation, sinon d'une aggravation, de l'inégalité sociale.