The forthcoming “London Conference” on Afghanistan (January 31-February 1, 2006), to be attended by President Hamid Karzai, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, and Paul Wolfowitz, head of the World Bank, brings together high ranking dignitaries from the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the international development community to endorse a new multilateral agreement to be known as the “Afghanistan Compact,” the successor of the Bonn Agreement.
Cambodias Failing Democracy
The international community has invested well over $5 billion in Cambodia since 1992 in a flawed attempt to nurture a democratic system. Following elections in 1993, the power elite in Cambodia reverted to sordid aspects of traditional political culture, promoting modernization within an authoritarian model. At a time when some promote democracy as a panacea for the world’s ills, Cambodia offers object lessons in the pitfalls to be overcome to implant a democratic system in less-developed political economies.
A Turning Point for Nepal?
The tiny country of Nepal wedged between India and China in South Asia is at a major crossroads: one path leads to a monarchy and a society continually plagued by internal strife while another offers the possibility of peace and a modern day democracy. A decade old civil war between the monarchy-controlled army and Maoist rebels is the roadblock. Costing Nepal at least 12,500 lives, the war looms over all segments of Nepalese society, preventing progress on social and economic life and leaving issues of democratic governance in the balance.
To Link or Not to Link: The Human Rights Question in North Korea
Though it would be difficult to find anyone in the United States who would praise North Korea for its dismal human rights record, this consensus of opinion by no means extends to practical foreign policy. In other words, there is broad agreement on what is wrong in North Korea, from the political labor camps to the lack of basic freedoms of speech and assembly, but little agreement on what to do about it or who should be doing it.
Islam, the State, and Freedom of Religion In Malaysia
Since September 2001 the struggle between militantly radical and progressive or democratic tendencies—between “ungentle” and “gentle” Islam—has become a matter of urgent importance not only among Muslims but to others beyond their faith community.
Revisioning the International Compact for Afghanistan
The Bonn Agreement, signed on December 5, 2001, provided the road map for the transformation of the Afghan state, culminating in the September 18, 2005 legislative elections. The landmark polls, which proceeded largely peacefully, have elected an Afghan Parliament for the first time in more than three decades. 1 Although the Bonn political process has made great strides toward facilitating Afghanistan ‘s transition to democracy, the costs and challenges associated with the reform agenda are immense and continue to spiral. With a narrow revenue base, Afghanistan will remain dependent on support from the international community for many years to come, not just to cover the capital costs associated with reconstruction and poverty reduction but also to underwrite core operating expenditures. Once funding for Coalition military operations is factored in, the cost of maintaining relative peace and stability in Afghanistan could exceed the $16-18 billion per year currently being spent—a prohibitively high figure in light of creeping donor fatigue. With the security situation in the country still volatile, regional posturing intensifying, and the United States signaling that troop withdrawals are imminent, Afghanistan’s transition remains fragile and uncertain. Senior Washington officials already quietly acknowledge that the reform process has failed to maintain the critical momentum that the Afghan government’s landmark report, Securing Afghanistan’s Future: Accomplishments and the Strategic Path Forward, appeared to generate when it was launched at the spring 2004 Berlin Donors Conference.
Karen Hughes Indonesia Visit Underscores Bush Administrations PR Problems
It is doubtful that the Bush administration will be very successful advancing America’s image in the Islamic world as long as its representatives have such trouble telling the truth.
India and the Iran Vote in the IAEA
IndiaÂs vote in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) against Iran in September came as no surprise to anyone who has followed closely the recent course of IndiaÂs foreign policy. It is a safe guess that support for U.S. actions on Iran was one of the conditions of IndiaÂs nuclear deal with the United States, which was given the final seal of approval by President Bush during the July 2005 visit of the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Washington.
Planting the Seeds of Al-Qaidas Second Generation
The American-led invasion and occupation of Iraq has provided al-Qaida with a new lease on life, a second generation of recruits and fighters, and a powerful outlet to expand its ideological outreach activities to Muslims worldwide. Statements by al-Qaida top chiefs, including bin Laden, Zawahiri, Zarqawi, and Seif al-Adl, portray the unfolding confrontation in Iraq as a Âgolden and unique opportunity for the global jihad movement to engage and defeat the United States and spread the conflict into neighboring Arab states in Syria, Lebanon, and the Palestine-Israeli theater. The global war is not going well for bin Laden, and Iraq enabled him to convince his jihadist followers that al-Qaida is still alive and kicking despite suffering crippling operational setbacks in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and elsewhere.
The Six-Party Talks Agreement
Nuclear nonproliferation advocates worldwide welcomed the joint agreement issued September 19 by the participants in the “Six-Party Talks” process aimed at denuclearizing the Korean peninsula. The agreement evinces not only a commitment by North Korea to end all nuclear weapons development, but also a validation of a negotiated approach to the current Korean nuclear crisis which both North Korea and the United States have, at various times, resisted.