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Was the NATO Afghan mission a failure? An urgent evaluation by NATO is needed
No full textMany commentators in recent days argued that the NATO retreat from Afghanistan represented a failure of Western interventions around the world and even the end of NATO – or at least the need for a European autonomy from the US. However, it is perhaps too early for such conclusions. What NATO perhaps needs most is an urgent evaluation of its Afghan mission followed by appropriate measures – that is, if it wants to remain what it has always been: a political-military alliance among free states. NATO blamed mostly Afghan leaders for the military collapse. Actually, the Taliban didn’t win a war against NATO, or against the US for that matter. They simply decided to take power by force as soon as the US and NATO retreated (and this instead of respecting the Doha accords). The Taliban preferred military conquest to negotiations with the Afghan government as soon as Western troops left the country – and the Afghan government decided to give up resistance to the Taliban insurgency so as to avoid a civil war. But to place responsibility in Afghan leadership alone is not enough. Was the NATO mission based on training, advice and assistance for Afghan security forces and institutions in their conflict with the Taliban a failure? This is what NATO now must ask itself. […
Pakistan: development calls for freedom and democracy!
No full textChinese and Pakistani authorities celebrated on the past 21st of May the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic relations. A series of events and ceremonies included the launching of the song ‘Pakistan has stolen my heart’, which reportedly instantaneously ‘became viral’ (Global Times, 21st of May, 2021), a commemorative coin (Xinhua, 10th of June, 2021) and a “‘Culture Day’ launched in Beijing to celebrate China-Pakistan relations” (Global Times, 6 of June, 2021). Since the early 1950s, China and Pakistan developed what has been called an ‘all- weather’ friendship. Historically, relations between the two nations were based on their common enmity towards India; they materialised in a strong security and defence cooperation (Chaudury, R, 2017). The 1963 agreement ceding a part of Pakistani-occupied Kashmir to China led to a significant consolidation of the alliance. Said alliance gained a strategic dimension through the pivotal role by Pakistan in facilitating the Sino-US rapprochement, which also led to further Sino-Pakistani military cooperation, particularly nuclear cooperation (Hassan, 2017, p.2). […
Demystifying the Republic Day violence: Assessing political greed within India’s farmer protests
No full textDisha Ravi, a young environmental activist, was arrested on the 13th of February 2021 on conspired charges of sedition and for threatening India’s territorial integrity. Disha’s arrest is a recent development in the context of violence that followed in Delhi on the 26th of January 2021. This violence is a result of three new farm acts which the Government of India had passed in September 2020. These bills enable farmers to sell their produce outside the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) mandis. This facilitates private and corporate investments in agriculture, and lets farmers undertake contracts with large private entities. However, these bills were met with immense opposition from several organisations, farmers, and political parties. It was speculated that large private players will occupy markets and dismantle both the APMC and its Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanism. It was also put forth that these laws will allow private players to dictate market prices and exploit small farmers. Another concern is that large firms will impose strong restrictions on both farmers and their products through their financial and legal power – while most farmers (uneducated and poor) lack the resources to even understand the mechanisms involved. […
Gwadar protests and the peculiar role of Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan
No full textFor nearly a month, the coastal town of Gwadar has been witnessing the emergence of a protest movement called the Gwadar Ko Huqooq Do Tehreek (Give Rights to Gwadar Movement), ‘considered one of the largest in Baluchistan’s history’. The movement is led by Jamaat-e-Islami (JI). Baluchistan’s General Secretary and religious scholar Maulana Hidayat-ur-Rehman Baloch is rallying against various issues, from the presence of large illegal fishing trawlers and the ban on locals from engaging on deep-sea trawling to the lack of health facilities, adequate educational centres, and drinking water. In brief, protesters are demanding the basic rights denied to them by the central government and its subservient provincial administration since the country came into existence. The Baloch feeling of social and economic marginalisation as well as political side-lining gained additional momentum since the launch of the Beijing’s initiated China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), roughly six years ago (Wolf, 2019). For regional communities in Gwadar and beyond, it becomes increasingly obvious that instead of the promised employments and improved overall living conditions, Chinese development projects (foremost the CPEC) increase socio-economic aberrations (especially the exploitation of local resources without adequate returns for autochthonous populations) and generally deteriorate living conditions. For experts, such massive protests do not come by surprise; however, the composition, timing, and leadership structure of these movement do raise some questions. […
Monolog oder Dialog? Perspektiven auf Entwicklung und Zusammenarbeit, Eurozentrismus und Solidarität
No full textDie Machthierarchien in Entwicklung und Zusammen-
arbeit haben ihre Wurzeln in der ,zivilisatorischen‘
Mission der Kolonialzeit, welche bereits seit dem ersten
Auftreten von Aktivist:innen und dekolonialen Bewegungen kritisiert wird. Seit Jahrhunderten verfolgt der
Globale Norden seine ganz eigenen Interessen durch
‚Entwicklungszusammenarbeit‘. Laut Bundesministerium
für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung
ist die deutsche Entwicklungszusammenarbeit als freiheit-
liche Aufgabe definiert. Sie soll den Menschen im Globalen
Süden ein selbstbestimmtes und eigenverantwortliches
Leben ohne materielle Not ermöglichen, Armut beseitigen
sowie Menschenrechte, Rechtstaatlichkeit und Demokratie
fördern.
Mit Beiträgen von Dirk Saam, Felicitas Qualmann, Eric D. U. Gutierrez, Gita Herrmann, Dominik Hofzumahaus, Roman Herre, Kay Yang, Ade Tanesia Pandjaitan, Alena Höfer und Hannah Wolf mit Emmalyn Liwag-Kotte
Just Transition in der Palmölindustrie. Eine erste Annäherung.
No full textDie Palmölindustrie als Ganzes ist derzeit weder ökologisch
noch sozial nachhaltig. Das grundlegende Geschäftsmodell
basiert auf der Ausbeutung der Natur durch
großflächige Monokulturen, die die Artenvielfalt zerstören
und auf den massiven Einsatz von Herbiziden, Pestiziden
und chemischen Düngemitteln angewiesen sind. Verbunden
ist dieses ökologische Modell der „billigen Natur“ mit
einem sozialen Modell, welches auf billige Arbeitskräfte
angewiesen ist (Pye 2018).
In diesem Beitrag wird diskutiert, ob eine Just Transition-
Perspektive, d.h. eine sozial-ökologische Transformation
der Industrie, die sowohl die Forderungen der Arbeiter:
innen als auch die der Umweltgerechtigkeitsbewegung
berücksichtigt, diese Gegensätze theoretisch überwinden
könnte und wie eine Just Transition-Perspektive in
der Praxis durch die Zusammenarbeit der Bewegungen
der Arbeiter:innen, der indigenen Bevölkerung und der
Umweltgerechtigkeit entwickelt werden könnte. Da viele
Plantagengenehmigungen derzeit auslaufen, ergibt sich
die Chance, die sozial-ökologische Transformation dieser
Monokulturlandschaften zu gestalten – eine Chance, die
es zu ergreifen gilt.
Beiträge von Oliver Pye, Fitri Arianti, Rizal Assalam, Michaela Haug und Janina Puder
Basic Hindi I
No full textBasic Hindi I is an online, interactive, and tech-enhanced textbook that promotes speaking, listening, reading, writing, and cultural skills. Each Chapter in this book has clear stated learning outcomes, a review of previous chapters, reading/listening sections, study abroad section, relevant grammatical items, and cultural notes. The pedagogical approach in the book is mixed and informed by the socio-cultural approaches and the generative approaches of the Second Language Acquisition theory. The mixed theoretical backgrounds match diverse learning and teaching philosophies and styles. Following the learning outcomes guided by American Council of Teaching Foreign Language (ACTFL), this textbook aims for the novice learners to attain intermediate low to mid-level proficiency level. The textbook incorporates pictures, audio-visual materials, and activities developed on the H5P platform to keep learners engaged
The threat of the Taliban’s rising to power in Afghanistan – Where will Pakistan stand?
No full textAfter months of speculation, the dice is cast: the US will withdraw its remaining combat troops from Afghanistan. Contrary to the vision by some optimistic sections of both the Afghans and the international community, the country is far away from becoming ‘a better place’ to live in. There are no indications yet that the Taliban are interested in the establishment of any other order than that based on their fundamentalist vision of a draconian, Islamist regime. The fact that US troops are pulling out without any political settlement – and that Washington apparently did not work out an immediate Afghan policy – adds to the grim perspective Afghanistan is facing. The lack of clarity on the future of the Afghan government, the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF), and the citizenry remains. There are simmering concerns about the hopelessness of the intra-Afghan peace negotiations and the outbreak of another civil war. The theoretical option of a Taliban-Kabul agreement might be the ‘tactically most acceptable for all parties’; however, it seems unrealistic. The Taliban and other militant Islamist forces, all of which are becoming increasingly stronger and emboldened by the withdrawal of US and NATO, are more likely to pursue a military takeover than to accept a compromise with the Ghani administration. […
India-EU Maritime Cooperation: Defining contours for a partnership in the Indo-Pacific Region
No full textThe first India-EU Maritime Dialogue was held on January 20, 2021. It featured consultations on issues such as the maritime security environment and the enhancement of regional cooperation. The dialogue took place within the larger framework of India-EU Strategic Partnership, in accordance with its Roadmap to 2025. This development comes at a time when the Indo-Pacific as a regional construct is gaining prominence in world politics. The Indo-Pacific, a confluence of the Indian and Pacific oceans forming a single geopolitical construct, is the most populous region of the world – and one-third of the world’s trade in goods and energy crosses the region. The EU is a significant stakeholder in the area, as the majority of EU’s exports to Asia-Pacific markets traverse the Indo-Pacific waters. The stability and security of vital sea lanes of communication in the area remain crucial for the EU. Similarly, India, being a responsible resident actor in the region, aspires for a free and open Indo-Pacific and is alarmed by the territorial aggression from its neighbour China, as well as by the latter’s growing inroads and influence in New Delhi’s neighbourhood. Taking these factors into account, and focusing on a dynamic security environment engulfing the Indo-Pacific region, one may ask: ‘What objectives and goals should the Indo-EU Maritime Cooperation entail in the larger region?’ […
State Rationales for contributing troops to UN peacekeeping operations
No full textIn many conflict zones around the globe - spreading from Sub-Saharan Africa to Eastern Europe and from the Middle East to Haiti - contingent troops, experts, staff officers, police and personnel are working under the umbrella of the United Nations (UN). Controls struggle to promote peace and stability, as well as maintain the rule of law and order. According to conflict resolution theorists, peacekeeping operations (PKO) are necessary for positive conflict transformation. Thus the UNPKO plays a fundamental role in maintaining world peace (Diehl, Druckman and Wall, 1998). The UN Peacekeeping’s mandate is unique in terms of global partnership. It is set by the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council (UNSC); consent of the host country is needed, as is that by troop and police contributors (What is peacekeeping, 2020). UN peacekeeping troops help countries navigate the challenging path from conflict to stability. However, as the UN doesn’t have a regular army, it relies on member states troop to carry out Peacekeeping Operations in conflict areas. This research demonstrates that well-equipped and trained UN peacekeeping operations promote peace and stability more efficiently. The paper centres on an important question: what motivates the willingness of member states to contribute with troops to the UNPKO. We found that states experiencing inter-state rivalry and with struggling economies tend to contribute more troops than great powers and wealthy states. Bellamy and Williams’ Model and Middle Power theory are used here so as to better analyse the rationale of troops contribution in PKO. China as a case study is also used in the paper