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Will elections be enough for democracy in Pakistan?
No full textIt is commonly agreed that most democratic orders rest their foundations on three basic principles: people's sovereignty, liberty and equality. This means that the most essential condition for all democratic forms of governance is the "freely expressed will of the people whereby all individuals are to be treated as equals"
The burden of history: Political legacies and polarisation
No full textThroughout the country's history, polarisation has hampered political institution building which, in turn, hindered the democratisation process
Taliban Talks: The Completion of a Defeat?
No full textIn the context of the recently opened Taliban office in Doha (Qatar), and the start of talks between the US and political representatives of the Taliban movement, the following article will elaborate on the difficulties attached to the so-called "peace negotiation" process. The article contends that any agreement on power sharing will lead to political and military resistance, which in turn will undermine democracy and nullify all achievements regarding human rights and particularly women's rights. Therefore, armed confrontation will remain the norm. The main argument is that the Taliban as an anti-systemic and anti-democratic force is trapped in its own fundamentalist ideology and, in order to keep the movement going, it has to reject Afghanistan's current democratic system of governance. Because the Taliban's major goal is to re-establish the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, which is absolutely incompatible with the interests of any other stakeholder in the Afghan imbroglio. However, in order for the US to ensure a safe withdrawal, Washington will remain ignorant towards this threat. In contrast, it offers the Taliban political participation which effectivel gives them the opportunity to undermine Afghanistan's political system from within. In brief, it will complete NATO's military defeat with a political one
Constitutional Assembly Elections in Nepal 2013: Some Pre-Poll Reflections
No full textHaving witnessed decades of political imbroglio, Nepal is once again set to go to the polls on November 19. After 2008, it will be the second time that the electorate has to cast their ballots for a Constitutional Assembly (CA) - the country’s national parliament. However, instead of gleefully looking forward to what is meant to be a "feast of democracy", sentiments of concern prevail among Nepalese and international observers. On the face of it this might seem odd because the call for an election is the logical next step now that a new constitution has been drafted
Regionalwahlen in Delhi und anderen Bundesstaaten: Wegweiser für die Parlamentswahl 2014?
No full textDer Beitrag befasst sich mit den fünf Regionalwahlen in Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh und Mizoram. Bis auf die Wahlen in Mizoram musste die regierende Kongresspartei deutliche Niederlagen hinnehmen. In Delhi wurde die dort seit 1998 regierende Kongresspartei deutlich abgewählt und die Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) starkste Kraft. Die erstmals bei einer Wahl angetretende Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), die aus der Anti-Korruptionsbewegung hervorgegangen ist, wurde auf Anhieb zweistärkste Kraft im Landesparlament. Sollte sich der Trend der Regionalwahlen auf bei der Parlamentswahl 2014 bestätigen, wird es das Parteienbündnis unter Führung der Kongresspartei sehr schwer haben, diese Wahlen erneut zu gewinnen
Gender-inclusive Nutrition Activities in South Asia: Lessons from Global Experiences
No full textThis paper examines promising approaches from a wide array of literatures to improve gender-inclusive nutrition interventions in South Asia. It is the second of a series on gender and nutrition in South Asia. The first paper explored why gender matters for undernutrition in the region and conducted a mapping of regional nutrition initiatives to find that gender is too narrowly addressed in most programs if at all. Adequately addressing gender2 requires nutrition programs to focus not only on health services and information for the mother and her children, but also on her autonomy and the support she receives from her partner, other household members, and the broader community. This focus is especially important for adolescent mothers in the region, who have very low status. The present study drew from the conceptual framework of the previous paper and investigated four types of innovations in nutrition initiatives that address gender. These entail promoting: (1) women s household autonomy; (2) household support for the woman and her own and her children s nutrition; (3) community support for the woman and her own and her children s nutrition; and (4) help for adolescent girls. Though the ideal "gender-inclusive nutrition interventions" package (GINI for short) was never found, based on the findings of this review, it can be described. Indeed, it is quite consonant with this study s conceptual framework. The most effective programs would encompass the following "success factors": (a) ensure that the targeted women not only earn but control income (as in the HKI homestead garden projects in Bangladesh, Nepal and Cambodia); (b) get the powerful members of young married women s households - men and paternal grandmothers - on board by means of peer advocacy and community-oriented programs that (c) provide them with information on nutrition and women s child welfare-focused spending patterns, (d) as well as (small) incentives so they don t seize control of income or marketable food generated by those women. These programs also would (e) train forward-looking local women (including grandmothers) and men for volunteer roles (preferably with small incentives for sustainability). (f) They would provide BCC on nutrition and help increase support by community leaders, religious figures and members for young women s livelihoods as well as mother/child nutrition. (g) Finally, the ideal GINI would also target teen girls, offering them nutrition information, along with incentives to parents to keep them in school and programs for the girls to earn money. Positive examples encountered in the literature are presented below (along with some partial successes that need further refinement). If polished and scaled up, such programs could put a big dent in the "South Asian Enigma" and both the gender inequities and malnutrition that define it
Towards a deep state? The intrinsic ties between Imran Khan and the Taliban
No full textThe paper deals with the success of Imran Khan and his political party, "Movement for Justice", as a third power in Pakistan's politics. Khan haunts a strategy of appeasement against Taliban and other radical movements in Pakistan. The author argues that Khan and his movement will be a short, but dangerous episode with long term consequences for Pakistan
The sacred Garden of Lumbini: Perceptions of Buddha's birthplace
No full textThis publication is based on the premise that Lumbini can be perceived from numerous viewpoints and that all viewpoints together facilitate the overall understanding of the birthplace of Buddha. This perception sets the frame for the preparation of a management system, a mandatory requirement for a World Heritage Property. At a meeting in Lumbini on 25 May 2010, Kai Weise, UNESCO consultant for the preparation of the Integrated Management Plan, presented to site managers and government authorities eight realms of understanding: in Buddhist texts; in historical texts; in archaeology; as part of the Kenzo Tange Master Plan; as a World Heritage Property; in an environmental context; and in association with the activities of visitors and pilgrims. This eight-layer approach was the basis for the formulation of a UNESCO project funded by the Japanese Funds-in-Trust for the Preservation of the World Cultural Heritage that was aimed at supporting efforts to better manage Lumbini and address three other critical issues, namely broadening the knowledge based on Lumbini through archaeological research; ensuring the physical conservation of the vestiges in Lumbini; and preparing an improved lay-out of the Sacred Garden through a better understanding of the Kenzo Tange Master Plan. A study was undertaken with funding from the Paris based nongovernmental organization, Oriental Cultural Heritage Sites Protection Alliance, under the coordination of Kosh Prasad Acharya. The following experts were chosen for each of the eight perceptions: Christoph Cüppers for the chapter on Buddhist texts; Basanta Bidari for the chapter on historical texts; Robin Coningham for the chapter on archaeology; Yukio Nishimura for the chapter on Kenzo Tange Master Plan; Herb Stovel for the chapter on World Heritage; Anil Chitrakar for the chapter on environment; and Sayalay Bhaddamanika for the chapter on visitor activities. Additionally, a study on visitors’ expectations was carried out by Gyanin Rai. These studies became the basis for the preparation of the ‘Guidelines for the physical planning of the Sacred Garden’, a key component of the Integrated Management Framework for Lumbini, the Birthplace of Buddha. This publication presents the eight perceptions based on the experts’ studies. It also incorporates additional information collected from various sources to provide a comprehensive and updated image of Lumbini
World Bank Client Satisfaction Study, Pakistan 2013: Executive Summary
No full textThe World Bank conducted a Client Satisfaction Study (CSS) for Pakistan in 2013 to identify the client's perception of Bank's role and presence in the country. This paper includes the following sections: overall attitude towards World Bank in Pakistan; views on country partnership strategy; views and opinion about services of World Bank; World Bank access and media habits: advisory for a future strategy; and detailed views about World Bank from client side
Agriculture and Water Policy: Toward Sustainable Inclusive Growth
No full textThis paper reviews Pakistan's agriculture performance and analyzes its agriculture and water policies. It discusses the nature of rural poverty and emphasizes the reasons why agricultural growth is a critical component to any pro-poor growth strategy for Pakistan. It supports these arguments by summarizing key results from recent empirical analysis where the relative benefits of agricultural versus non-agricultural led growth are examined. The results also provide an illustration of farm and non-farm linkages. It summarizes recent performance of the agriculture sector, and discusses key characteristics of its sluggish productivity growth. Three key issues related to increasing productivity are discussed: namely technology, water use and water management, and policy reforms related to markets and trade that can strengthen the enabling environment and contribute to the promotion of diversification towards high value agriculture