ISAF WITHDRAWAL AND AN UPSURGE OF RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM IN AFGHANISTAN

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 112-124
Author(s):  
Dinara Aytzhanova ◽  
Daniyar Aytzhanov
Keyword(s):  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
White House ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Religious Extremism ◽  
Central Asian Countries ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact ◽  
International Security Assistance Force

An upsurge of religious extremism and terrorism in Afghanistan that followed the 2014 withdrawal of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) confirmed the pessimistic forecasts for the country’s future: a far greater number of terrorist attacks and their victims among non-combatants across the country was the most obvious repercussion. The civil war continued unabated, while the negative additional factors—the Taliban that had grown much stronger, as well as the activation of ISIS militants, who had come from Iraq and Syria to continue fighting—contributed to its further exacerbation. All sorts of extremist religious groups in Afghanistan consolidated their positions and even created an unwelcome possibility of their transit to the Central Asian countries. The authors have clearly demonstrated that there is a direct interdependence between the presence of ISAF under U.S. command and the degree of violence of the Taliban, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant—Khorasan Chapter, and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan operating in Afghanistan. They have also analyzed the impact of the statement made by the U.S. regarding the signed agreement with the Taliban that envisaged the removal of U.S. troops from the country in the next fourteen months and the release of Taliban prisoners. Since the Government of Afghanistan had been left in the cold, many doubted that the agreement would be fully realized any time soon. An analysis of the events that followed demonstrated that the Taliban would not stick to its part of the agreement, while the White House treated the document as an election promise (formally) fulfilled. There are enough extremist organizations (i.e., ISIS) that operate in the provinces and, free from obligations and in pursuit of their own aims, might interfere in the attempts to fulfill the agreement in its optimistic version. An assessment of certain processes suggests that the threats coming from ISIS are somewhat overestimated. The studies are based on the following methods: comparative analysis of relevant literature, statistical analysis of the dynamics of time series to identify the developing trends of terrorist activities of religious extremists in Afghanistan.

scholarly journals ICT and Economic Growth Nexus: Case of Central Asian Countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 155-167
Author(s):  
Tursun Shodiev ◽  
Bakhodir Turayey ◽  
Kamoliddin Shodiyev
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Digital Economy ◽  
Gdp Per Capita ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Central Asian Countries ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

The Government of Uzbekistan declared the year of 2020 as “The Year of Science, Education and Development of the Digital Economy” and is implementing the State Program, aiming at to liberalize the economy, improve market related incentives, encourage private enterprises, to reduce the role of the public sector by introducing ICT and Internet, developing digital economy. In order to understand the causal relationship between ICT investment and economic growth researchers have exert many effort in the world. The results are different: in developed countries the impact of ICT on economic growth is more powerful than in developing countries. This paper aims at finding and measuring causality between Economic growth and ICT development in emerging economies of Central Asian Countries by using panel data over  the period of  19 years  from 2000 – 2018. The research findings revealed that inflation, trade openness, final consumption expenditure and unemployment impact significantly on GDP per capita in Central Asian countries.  The econometric analysis showed  that ICT affects to GDP per capita positively and significantly: one percent increase in ICT contributes to GDP per capita 0.1669 percent (fixed broadband subscriptions) and 0.2218 percent (internet usage).Thus we concluded that information and communication technology together with economic indicators are key part of economic development in Central Asian countries. Reduction of inflation and unemployment allow expanding businesses, to create new job places in the digital economy.

The “Surge Phenomenon” of Macro Economy in Developing Countries from the Perspective of Tobacco Economy

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 663-673
Author(s):  
Lulu Liu
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Tobacco Industry ◽  
Investment Decision ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Social Costs ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

Objectives: Starting from the tobacco economy, this paper studies the “surge phenomenon” of macro-economy in developing countries. Methods: This paper studies the impact of tobacco industry on Anhui economy by using the relevant theories of industrial economics, econometrics and regulatory economics, combined with the actual situation of tobacco industry. Based on the analysis of the overall development of tobacco industry, this paper empirically analyzes the relationship between tobacco industry and Anhui economic growth. This paper combs the relevant literature of the existing research results of this theory. Combined with the special fact that government investment accounts for a large proportion in China’s current economic construction, this paper redefines the hypothesis of the investor in the theory of principles. On this basis, the expected equilibrium results of enterprise investment decision-making under government led and market led modes are compared and analyzed by using incomplete information static game model. Results: When the output value of tobacco industry increases by 1%, it will drive the GDP to increase by 0.373%. Secondly, by comparing the economic benefits of tobacco with the social costs of tobacco, it is found that with the economic development, the social costs caused by tobacco increase year by year, but the economic benefits are slightly greater than the social costs. The difference between the two is also increasing year by year. Conclusion: In the context of tobacco control, we should fully consider the advantages and disadvantages of developing the tobacco industry. Under the excessive intervention of the government, the manifestation of the surge phenomenon is more intense, and the final consequence of overcapacity is more serious than that under the market-oriented mode..

Turkmenistan

2019 ◽  
pp. 125-154
Author(s):  
Richard Pomfret
Keyword(s):  
National Economy ◽  
Economic Liberalization ◽  
World Cotton ◽  
Energy Prices ◽  
Basic Goods ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
World Markets ◽  
Transition Strategies ◽  
Central Asian Countries ◽  
The Government

This chapter assesses the national economy and transition strategies of Turkmenistan. Among all the former centrally planned economies, Turkmenistan has regularly ranked last by transition indicators measuring speed of reform or degree of economic liberalization. Indeed, apart from the cotton and gas exports, Turkmenistan remained the most closed and least reformed of the Central Asian countries during the 1990s and early 2000s. In the years after independence, Turkmenistan could sell its cotton on world markets, and like Uzbekistan benefited from buoyant world cotton prices until 1996. Exacerbated by falling output, cotton export revenues declined sharply; like Uzbekistan but with a delay, Turkmenistan imposed draconian forex controls in 1998. After the 2014–2016 collapse in energy prices, Turkmenistan was left in a vulnerable position, facing lower global energy prices, to which the government responded by reducing subsidies on basic goods and strengthening exchange controls.

scholarly journals The Malaysian Federal Constitution: An Islamic or a Secular Constitution?

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 134
Author(s):  
Syed Fadhil Hanafi Syed A. Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Salient Feature ◽  
Basic Structure ◽  
Public Law ◽  
The Other ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Federal Constitution ◽  
Relevant Case ◽  
The Government ◽  
Personal Law ◽  
The Impact

Constitutionalism dictates that the government must only act within the four walls of the constitution. While adherence to this fundamental doctrine is proven to be difficult, it becomes more complicated when the walls are unclear. For decades, Malaysians struggle to ascertain the actual legal value of religion, particularly Islam, in its Federal Constitution and the impact of religion to the Malaysian legal system. Some opined that secularism is a basic structure of the Malaysian Federal Constitution and in the name of constitutionalism, religious laws cannot be the basis for administration of public law and must be confined to personal law matters. On the other hand, some opined that Islam constitutes a salient feature of the Constitution and the position of Islam as the religion of the Federation implies Malaysia as an Islamic state. This paper analyses the conflicting views, via qualitative studies of constitutional provisions which have religious element in the light of their history, together with relevant case laws which interpreted them. The analysis is done with a view to determine whether the Malaysian Federal Constitution is a secular instrument creating a secular state or a religious document establishing a theocratic state. From such analysis, the author presents that the Malaysian Federal Constitution, albeit giving special preference to Islam, is a religion-neutral document which is receptive to both religious and secular laws. This is based on the fact that the Constitution upholds the validity of both secular and religious laws for as long as they are enacted according to procedural laws required by the Constitution.

scholarly journals New Trends in Central Asian Connectivity

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabio Indeo
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Regional Cooperation ◽  
Belt And Road Initiative ◽  
Land Bridge ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
Central Asian Countries ◽  
National Economies ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Central Asian Republics

The main aim of this article is to evaluate the impact of the China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and of Uzbekistan's proactive regional policy to promote regional interconnectivity and to develop an “endogenous” cooperation mainly focused on the strategic interests of Central Asian countries. Within the BRI, Central Asia holds a strategic relevance, because this region is crossed by two of the six main BRI corridor projects – the China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic Corridor and the Eurasian land bridge – which will contribute to improve regional cooperation and connections among these countries. For Central Asian republics, BRI represents an attractive project benefiting of Chinese huge investments aimed to boost infrastructures and to develop national economies. Under Mirziyoyev's leadership, Uzbekistan has undertaken a proactive and constructive regional diplomacy in Central Asia, based on the improvement of relations and cooperation with other Central Asian republics, which has become a key priority of Tashkent's foreign policy.

scholarly journals Impact of Trade Openness on Food Security: Evidence from Panel Data for Central Asian Countries

Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 3012
Author(s):  
Zhilu Sun ◽  
Defeng Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Panel Data ◽  
Trade Openness ◽  
Generalized Method Of Moments ◽  
Dynamic Panel Data ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
The World ◽  
Central Asian Countries ◽  
The Impact

The problem of food insecurity has become increasingly critical across the world since 2015, which threatens the lives and livelihoods of people around the world and has historically been a challenge confined primarily to developing countries, to which the countries of Central Asia, as typical transition countries, cannot be immune either. Under this context, many countries including Central Asian countries have recognized the importance of trade openness to ensure adequate levels of food security and are increasingly reliant on international trade for food security. Using the 2001–2018 panel data of Central Asian countries, based on food security’s four pillars (including availability, access, stability, and utilization), this study empirically estimates the impact of trade openness and other factors on food security and traces a U-shaped (or inverted U-shaped) relationship between trade openness and food security by adopting a panel data fixed effect model as the baseline model, and then conducts the robustness test by using the least-squares (LS) procedure for the pooled data and a dynamic panel data (DPD) analysis with the generalized method of moments (GMM) approach, simultaneously. The results show that: (1) a U-shaped relationship between trade openness and the four pillars of food security was found, which means that beyond a certain threshold of trade openness, food security status tends to improve in Central Asian countries; (2) gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, GDP growth, and agricultural productivity have contributed to the improvement of food security. Employment in agriculture, arable land, freshwater withdrawals in agriculture, population growth, natural disasters, and inflation rate have negative impacts on food security; and (3) this study confirms that trade policy reforms can finally be conducive to improving food security in Central Asian countries. However, considering the effects of other factors, potential negative effects of trade openness, and vulnerability of global food trade network, ensuring reasonable levels of food self-sufficiency is still very important for Central Asian countries to achieve food security. Our research findings can provide scientific support for sustainable food system strategies in Central Asian countries.

scholarly journals The role of e-commerce in the urban food system under COVID-19: lessons from China

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongdong Guo ◽  
Yehong Liu ◽  
Xinjie Shi ◽  
Kevin Z. Chen
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
Food System ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Urban Residents ◽  
Governance System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Primary Model ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate e-commerce as a new means to ensure that the urban demand for food can be met during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. Because a number of COVID-19 e-commerce models have emerged, this paper discusses whether and (if so) why and how e-commerce can ensure the food supply for urban residents if social distancing becomes a norm and the transport and logistics systems are hindered.Design/methodology/approachThis study used qualitative research methods following the lack of empirical data. The authors referred to relevant literature, statistical data and official reports and comprehensively described the importance of e-commerce in ensuring the safety of food supply to Chinese urban residents under the impact of the epidemic. Corresponding to the traditional case study, this study presented a Chinese case on ensuring food supply through e-commerce during an epidemic.FindingsThe authors found that three e-commerce models played a substantial role in preventing the spread of the epidemic and ensuring the food supply for urban residents. The nationwide e-commerce platforms under market leadership played their roles by relying on the sound infrastructure of large cities and its logistics system was vulnerable to the epidemic. In the worst-affected areas, particularly in closed and isolated communities, the local e-commerce model was the primary model, supplemented by the unofficial e-commerce model based on social relations. Through online booking, centralized procurement and community distribution, the risk of cross infection could be effectively reduced and the food demand could be effectively satisfied. The theoretical explanation further verifies that, apart from e-commerce, a governance system that integrates the government, e-commerce platform, community streets and the unofficial guanxi also impels the success of these models.Originality/valueLessons from China are drawn for other countries struggling to deliver food to those in need under COVID-19. The study not only provides a solution that will ensure constant food supply to urban residents under the COVID-19 epidemic but also provides some reference for the maintenance of the food system of urban residents under the impact of a globalization-related crisis in future.

The political and security repercussions of Islamic State in the MENA region

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marién Durán ◽  
Víctor Bados
Keyword(s):  
The Self ◽  
The Political ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Security Framework ◽  
Mena Region ◽  
International Response ◽  
Domain Type ◽  
Occupied Territories ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

This chapter examines the political, territorial and security repercussions of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) for the MENA region, and particularly in Syria, Iraq and Libya. The proclamation of the IS, on 29 June 2014, has had a major impact on political and security alike. It has been given a new twist to the war in Iraq and Syria and the Libyan conflict on the following aspects: (i) amplifying and making the conflict more complex with related implications on security; (ii) establishing a new mode of governance in the conquered territories; and (iii) further producing a new security framework in MENA region. After a brief contextualization about the origins and goals of IS, the chapter analyses the following sections: (i) the impact of IS in the security domain (type of conflict with its own signs of identity); (ii) the government exerted in the occupied territories; and (iii) the implications and impacts on the security realm throughout MENA region by focusing on two main domains: the international response to the threat provided by the international community, and the new configuration of regional and global alliances. The main contribution of this chapter dues to the scarcity of studies in this regard is the analysis of the IS’ conflict typology.

Diverse neighbors and post-conflict recovery at the village level: Evidence from Iraq after ISIL

2021 ◽  
pp. 002234332110391
Author(s):  
Lloyd Lyall
Keyword(s):  
Economic Activity ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
First Year ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Intrastate Conflict ◽  
Spatial Autoregression ◽  
Village Level ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
The Government

Why do some towns recover faster than others after intrastate conflict? Many important decisions about post-conflict recovery are made at the substate level, but little empirical work has investigated what causes differences in recovery outcomes within a country. This article suggests that proximity to ethno-religiously diverse neighbors slows a town’s post-conflict recovery. A town has ‘diverse neighbors’ if towns with different plurality ethno-religious groups are nearby. This hypothesis is tested by exploring variation in recovery speed among Iraqi towns after the 2014–17 Islamic State insurgency (ISIL). The article constructs 81-month panels of economic activity for 379 Iraqi settlements occupied by ISIL by using satellite-observed nighttime light emissions as a proxy for economic activity. The panels reveal large variation in post-conflict recovery among towns during the first year of peace. Village-level survey data are then used to construct a measure of neighbor diversity, which is combined with lighting-based recovery scores in spatial autoregression. The results show that greater neighbor diversity is robustly associated with slower settlement recovery. The neighbor diversity penalty cannot be fully explained by cleavages between groups ‘on opposite sides’ of the conflict; proximity to out-group neighbors appears to slow recovery even between wartime allies. Several explanations are considered, and this article suggests that the types of post-liberation controllers that arise in diverse areas – which tend to be substate militias rather than the government – may be one important mechanism.

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