Pakistan is facing a serious crisis today and despite the proclivity of the nation’s elites to blame external forces, the wounds are largely self-inflicted. India is not the biggest danger Pakistan faces today. It is the extremist groups that the security establishment has nurtured over the years that have turned against the Pakistani state. The […]
IS THERE ANY HOPE FOR PEACEBUILDING IN AFGHANISTAN?
In 2001, as a reaction to the September 11 terror attacks, the United States led an international campaign to capture those members of al-Qa’ida responsible for the attacks. A second objective focused on rebuilding Afghanistan so that after decades of conflict, its people would have a better future. However, despite a huge commitment by the international community, Afghanistan remains highly unstable and volatile. This article explores the reasons the international effort in Afghanistan has failed to deliver peace, security, and stability.
U.S. Policy Toward Pakistan and Afghanistan under the Obama Administration
The study examines how the United States has come to deal with Afghanistan-Pakistan, a key foreign policy challenge for the Obama administration. It focuses on President Obama’s new policy known as AfPak, the Kerry-Lugar Act, and other U.S. initiatives adopted since 2009 in order to help stabilize the situation in South Asia. The author concludes by arguing that the new initiatives will not substantially improve the situation in Pakistan, because they fail to address the country’s core problem: lack of strong democratic institutions.
The Waziristan Accord
Г?ВЇГ?В»Г?Вї THE WAZIRISTAN ACCORD Evagoras C. Leventis* The Waziristan Accord between Pakistan’s government and tribal leaders in that country’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) has failed not only to curb violence in the immediate region but also to restrict cross-border militant activity—including resurgent Taliban and al-Qa’ida cadres—between Pakistan’s “tribal belt” and Afghanistan. The purpose of […]
The Sickle and the Minaret: Communist Successor Parties in Yemen and Afghanistan After the Cold war
By John Ishiyama This paper examines the evolution of the only two former ruling Marxist-Leninist parties in the Islamic world-the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan/Watan Party (PDPA) in Afghanistan and the Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP)-following the collapse of the Soviet Union. It considers these parties’ historic development and how they adjusted to […]