COMMENT 177 – On the Asian Century, Pax Sinica & Beyond (IX): Corona Crisis:...
With the Coronavirus outbreak, mankind is experiencing an extraordinarily difficult time - affecting all spheres of both public and private life, from domestic politics to international relations. Most countries are still to overcome the peak of crisis. As such, it is hardly possible to make any credible assessment of...
SADF Research Report 3 – Playing the Hard Power Card. Pakistan’s fencing of its...
Abstract
For decades a simmering conflict in the ties between Kabul and Islamabad, the issue of the Afghan-Pakistan border resurfaced after the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001 (Shah, 2013, p. 85) and the subsequent international engagement in Afghanistan. It is now gaining further momentum through the start...
SADF Research Report 2 – Patronage as Politics – The Quest to Redefine ‘Corruption’...
Abstract
This article focuses on the subject of corruption, defined as unlawful appropriation of public goods and benefits by individuals and personal interests. It is first argued that corruption is still widely prevalent in the contemporary world: developed state and bureaucratic structures are a recent, long- and hard-earned, relatively rare...
Focus 50 – China and Pakistan: Original Sinners of Gilgit-Baltistan and the ‘Azad Jammu...
Abstract
Recently, after abrogating Kashmir's semi-autonomous status, India declared a new domicile law for Kashmir. Pakistan has reacted strongly against this new law accusing India’s Hindu-nationalist government of harbouring schemes to alter the demography of Kashmir in order to change its Muslim-majority character. In this article, it is argued that...
COMMENT 176 – Negotiating Peace with the Taliban – A Cul de Sac
Cul de-Sac, a French expression meaning ‘dead end’, is unfortunately an appropriate term to describe the current process of negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government of President Ashraf Ghani. The subject of the talks is on a prisoner exchange between the two warring parties in the Afghan...
COMMENT 175 – The ‘Ghani-Bajwa Talk’: lessons and challenges
On April 2, 2020, Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani and Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Qamar Javed Bajwa had a phone conversation (Administrative Office of the President (AOP), 2020, April 3). There are strong reasons to believe this talk to be dangerous; some leads are also here provided on...
COMMENT 174 – The virus and the SAARC’s awakening
Prime-Minister Modi held a video conference on 15 March 2020 (South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation, SAARC, n.d.) ‘to discuss measures to contain the spread of COVID-19’ within the SAARC – which comprises Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It was attended by all...
COMMENT 173 – Kabul’s political impasse – challenging times for the international community
On March 23, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made an unannounced visit to Kabul. The official purpose of this urgent diplomatic mission was an attempt to ‘drive the peace process to success’ (United States Department of State (DOS), 2020, March 23b). In other words, to achieve a breakthrough...
COMMENT 172 – Understanding Israeli businesses’ acumen towards India
There is a newfound bonhomie between India and Israel. The improvement in bilateral relationships started when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government came to power in India in 2014. We now witness bilateral commitments at a higher strategic level. The BJP idolizes the Israeli...
Focus 49 – Only an Afghan-led peace process can bring peace to Afghanistan
Only an Afghan-led peace process can bring peace to Afghanistan
(revised edition published on 19 March 2020)
Abstract
By analysing the US-Taliban deal and the United States-Afghan joint declaration, this SADF Focus sheds light on the current and upcoming role of the Afghan government in the intra-Afghan dialogue. It is argued that...