Afghan presidential elections: a mirror of self-deception

Judgement over the 20 August Afghan elections has varied widely among observers. The most critical has been the Free and Fair Election Foundation, which reported widespread fraud. The EU observers, by contrast, judged that the elections were ‘free and fair’ despite widespread violence. Most diplomats congratulated Afghanistan over a voter turnout estimated at 40-50%, which despite being well below the official 70% of 2004 is believed to be acceptable in the face of ‘widespread’ violence

'Good' state vs. 'bad' warlords? A critique of state-building strategies in Afghanistan

The current Afghan government, having weak social roots has been forced to rely on the support of ‘warlords’ to stay in power. But a high price had to be paid. Despite the predominant stress in much current analysis on the issue of regional warlordism, the limited reform achievements in the Kabul ministries and the enduring domination by the militias of some key ministries are potentially much more threatening to the reform and re-establishment of the Afghan state. Widespread corruption is preventing some key ministries from achieving the minimal effectiveness required. Even within Kabul, the focus of the international community has been misplaced. In particular, the pressure of donors on the Ministry of the Interior has been nowhere near as strong as that exerted over the Ministry of Finance. The international community also failed to support adequately the attempts by ‘civil society’ to change the corrupt practices of the state administration

The debate on warlordism: the importance of military legitimacy

Despite the careless use of the terms ' warlord' and ' warlordism' by the media, both have become increasingly popular among academics, even if some scholars object to their use. This paper draws on direct field experience as well as the ongoing debate. It aims, on the one hand, to reconcile the different perspectives - which are often not necessarily at odds with each other - and on the other hand, to propose a definition of 'warlordism' for the social sciences that is both closer to that used so far by historians and at the same time consistent with emerging evidence from the field

The Islamic State and the Taliban’s Counter-terrorism

As the Taliban develops its state and governance apparatus in Afghanistan, it is also confronted with the unexpected task of developing a counter-terrorism strategy. As Antonio Giustozzi explains, the Islamic State in Khorasan has now turned on the Taliban, drawing attention to the complexity of extreme right-wing terrorism, deeply entrenched as it is in the social fabric of Afghanistan

Taliban Networks in Afghanistan

Dr. Antonio Giustozzi relies on his extensive experience as a researcher in Afghanistan to create an insightful analysis of a wide range of topics including assessments of the Taliban’s strengths and weaknesses, their ability to reassess and adapt, and their operational and strategic successes and failures. He has presented a balanced treatment of the subject matter; however, balance does not mean that the case study will be uncontroversial. In fact, Giustozzi’s analysis contains some rather blunt appraisals of many of the major actors in this conflict; including both ISAF and the Taliban.https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/ciwag-case-studies/1006/thumbnail.jp

Taliban and the future of the state in Afghanistan

As Afghanistan walks through the second year of Taliban rule, and world powers and global media move on to other things, what is the future of the political state, the Emirate, in Afghanistan? The Taliban maintain that they have learnt from the mistakes of their earlier tenure in the 1990s, but are they able to create any state apparatus of governance? Antonio Giustozzi analyses their performance since August 2021, and the road ahead

Los grupos étnicos y la movilización política en Afganistán

El artículo traza el desarrollo de las políticas étnicas en Afganistán, desde la década de 1930, cuando la monarquía promovió el nacionalismo Pashtún esperando engrosar sus bases populares, hasta los años ochenta y noventa, cuando facciones políticas armadas recurrieron cada vez más a la propaganda étnica para ganar apoyo, y finalmente hasta el período posterior a 2001, cuando la competencia electoral nuevamente trajo el tema de la identidad étnica a un primer plano.The article charts the rise of ethnic politics in Afghanistan from the 1930s, when the monarchy hoped that promoting Pashtun nationalism would strengthen its popular base, to the 1980s and 90s, when armed political factions increasingly resorted to ethnic propaganda to mobilize support, and finally to the post-2001 period, when electoral competition once again brought the issue of ethnic identity to the fore.O artigo mostra o aumento de políticas étnicas no Afeganistão desde os anos de 1930, quando a monarquia esperava que ao promover o nacionalismo dos Pashtun fortaleceria a sua base popular, até os anos de 1980 e 90, quando facções políticas armadas recorreram cada vez mais à propaganda étnica para conseguir apoio, e finalmente para o período após 2001, quando a competição eleitoral trouxe à tona o problema da identidade étnica

The Politics of the Taliban’s Shadow Judiciary, 2003–2013

The Taliban established their own judicial system in Afghanistan as both an instrument of population control and as a means to project themselves as an effective parallel government. Despite the heavy reliance on coercion, the Taliban’s method of dealing with common criminality and resolving disputes was often welcome, though the weak appeal system and the rapidity of the trials was sometimes criticized. A more structured approach to coercion, featuring rules, regulation and supervision over the military, allows less use of violence and promises increased predictability for the population, making active resistance less of a necessity. In the long run, the establishment of credible judiciary institutions reshapes the social environment and creates vested interests in favor of Taliban domination

High tie versus low tie of the inferior mesenteric artery: a protocol for a systematic review

In anterior resection of rectum, the section level of inferior mesenteric artery is still subject of controversy between the advocates of high and low tie. The low tie is the division and ligation to the branching of the left colic artery and the high tie is the division and ligation at its origin at the aorta. We intend to assess current scientific evidence in literature and to establish the differences comparing technique, anatomy and physiology. The aim of this protocol is to achieve a meta-analysis that tests safety and feasibility of the two procedures with several types of outcome measures