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1 |
ID:
117740
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Publication |
2012.
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Summary/Abstract |
This paper attempts to analyse the discussed issues and outcomes of the seventeenth SAARC Summit which took place in the Maldives from 10-11 November 2011 with a special reference to Bangladesh in the context of regional cooperation. Several significant and strategically important agreements were signed during this Summit with the intention to begin a new era of cooperation among the member countries. Therefore, the Summit declaration adopted several treaties like SAARC Agreement on Rapid Response to Natural Disasters, SAARC Seed Bank, SAARC Agreement on Multilateral Arrangement on Recognition of Conformity Assessment, and the SAARC Agreement on Implementation of Regional Standards. The agreements focused on enhancing and facilitating regional transit and connectivity, economic growth, ensuring energy security, combating terrorism and human trafficking and fight climate change. Though the Summit has come up with some promising mutual agreements, its success will depend on their proper and timely implementation. The lack of political will, problem of poor governance, weak economy and disparity, crisis of political leadership, ethnic, socio-cultural and religious divisions, challenges of non-state actors, transnational security challenges are considered to be the major hindrances to the success of regional integration. The South Asian region should develop its own short, medium, and long-term strategies for economic integration where each stage should be implemented effectively before moving on to the next in order to build a sound foundation for progress. The inclusion of China as 'dialogue partner' would help SAARC to make the tangible progress for regional cooperation in South Asia. The new focus on regional integrations is likely to create exciting opportunities for Bangladesh if it can exploit the synergies based on comparative advantages, investment in cross-border infrastructure projects, address challenges in governance, environmental and social developments.
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2 |
ID:
092210
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Publication |
2009.
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Summary/Abstract |
Any assessment of political developments in post-colonial India inevitably begins with the Indian National Congress (INC). Not only is it the oldest political party in India, but it also assumed a seminal role in mobilising and leading the independence movement from the late nineteenth century through to 1947. Since then, it has dominated parliamentary politics until 1996, when it lost government to a coalition of parties, in part as a result of what was identified as deep-seated corruption in the ranks of its parliamentarians. Yet there were other factors that contributed to this decline, the most notable of which was the emergence and rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Indeed, it could be argued that, by the beginning of the twenty-first century, the BJP could be seen as the most significant development in defining the changing nature of Indian politics.
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3 |
ID:
106148
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4 |
ID:
171499
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Summary/Abstract |
This research centers around the question: How can provincial governments take the lead in implementing an adaptive governance approach considering citizen-led wind energy development? A framework for ‘accommodative leadership’ was created - building on the work of Meijerink and Stiller (2013) regarding leadership in climate change adaptation, and the work of Sotarauta (2010) on place leadership. The combination of the two provides a leadership framework which aims to include both governmental actors and local citizens initiatives as potential leaders in wind energy development.
Three cases studies in three regions of the Netherlands were assessed. The results show that provinces adopt various leadership styles, referred to as ‘facilitative decentralization’, ‘deliberative innovation’ and ‘authoritative reluctance’. Our conclusion is that there is no roadmap for effective accommodative leadership, as it occurs in many forms. Nonetheless the developed framework can be used by regional governments as an assessment tool to understand the roles and actions which can potentially be taken by this authority to purposefully allocate their leadership capacities, while allowing citizen-led wind energy development.
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5 |
ID:
177486
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Summary/Abstract |
Sub-Saharan Africa faces several challenges that hamper the effort to provide universal electricity access. The challenges are not the result of lack of energy resources but rather the result of governance and institutional problems as well as lack of capital to meet the high investment requirement. This study aims to provide relevant policy recommendations to facilitate the path towards universal electricity access in Sub-Saharan Africa. We do this by identifying the barriers for electricity access and the relevant actors, institutions, and regulations using desk research, stakeholder interviews and expert workshops. The results show that the absence of overall plans and approaches and lack of clarity in policies are the main challenges for the sector. Setting standards for electricity products, such as solar panels, could help to reduce the problem of counterfeit poor quality products. A broader participation of non-governmental actors is needed to increase the speed of electrification. This requires innovative revenue schemes, financial and fiscal incentives and elimination of market distortions. More generally, we conclude that stable and consistent policy frameworks and improved coordination between actors, are crucial to accelerate electrification in the region.
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6 |
ID:
141776
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Summary/Abstract |
Climate change poses a serious threat to humanity in developed and developing countries and is already affecting South Asia. This study examines the role that good governance plays for adapting to climate change in Bangladesh, arguing that lack of good governance in Bangladesh risks reducing adaptation preparedness to climate change in the country. There is evidence, mainly because of geophysical risk factors, to support arguments that good governance has anyway limited capacity in relation to adaptation measures to climate change in countries like Bangladesh. The article argues that the current politico-economic situation makes it doubtful whether Bangladesh will achieve the fullest possible ability to ensure good governance for better adaptation to climate change in the near future.
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7 |
ID:
113586
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8 |
ID:
116997
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Publication |
2012.
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Summary/Abstract |
Thanks to new insights on the impacts that dwellings have throughout their life cycles, there has been increased attention to retrofitting innovative energy systems (IES) in existing housing. This paper uses an explorative case study design to gain more knowledge about the governance aspects of this under-researched topic. The central research question is: Which factors influence the adoption of innovative energy systems in social housing sites during renovation projects? To answer this question, eight large-scale renovation projects in The Netherlands were investigated. These case studies allowed the identification of barriers, enabling factors and perspectives from three main actors-housing associations, tenants and local authorities. It turns out that adopting IES encounters many barriers: lack of trust between project partners, delay in project progress, financial feasibility considerations, lack of support from tenants, lengthy legal permit procedures, over-ambitious project goals, poor experiences in previous projects, and IES ambitions that are not taken serious by key decision-makers. Furthermore, IES were only successfully fitted in three of the eight projects. Moreover, ambitions were lowered as the projects progressed in all the cases investigated. The study calls for further systematic, in-depth comparison of fitting IES in large-scale renovation projects in social housing.
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9 |
ID:
165593
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Summary/Abstract |
Do experts rationalize and legitimize authoritarian governance? Although research on expert actors in contexts of democracy and international governance is now extensive, scholarly work on their role in authoritarian settings remains limited. This article helps open the black box of authoritarian decision-making by investigating expert advisers in the Arab Gulf monarchies, where ruling elites have enlisted them from top universities and global consulting firms. Qualitative fieldwork combined with three experiments casts doubt on both the rationalization and legitimacy hypotheses and also generates new insights surrounding unintended consequences. On rationalization, the evidence suggests that experts contribute to perverse cycles of overconfidence among authoritarian ruling elites, thereby enabling a belief in state-building shortcuts. On legitimacy, the experiments demonstrate a backfire effect, with experts reducing public support for reform. The author makes theoretical contributions by suggesting important and heretofore unrecognized conflicts and trade-offs across experts’ potential for rationalizing vis-à-vis legitimizing.
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10 |
ID:
179341
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Summary/Abstract |
This article is about the interplay of defining characteristics in Afghanistan that led to the fall of King Amanullah in 1929. Previously, this has been done by looking at the reforms, tribal society and the ulema, the community of scholars, but the prism through which we examine Amanullah's downfall is Mahmud Tarzi's grouping together of ‘Din, Daulat, Watan, Millat' (Religion, State, Homeland (or Fatherland), Nation). The ideals informing this grouping, as well as the concepts themselves, were key factors underpinning Amanullah’s reform agenda. Where Tarzi wrote of these factors as integrative and functioning together, a perspective taken uncritically by many commentators, we argue here that, as concepts in governance intended to unify the country, they acted as the exact opposite; that they sparked off each other, contradicted each other, and undermined each other in the context of the period. Understanding this explains much of the fragmentation Afghanistan suffered in the 1920s and suggests a structural process of causation for the fall of Amanullah.
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11 |
ID:
107147
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Publication |
2011.
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Summary/Abstract |
The overarching Western objective in Afghanistan should be to prevent that country from becoming not just a haven for transnational terrorists, but a terrorist ally as well. That was the situation prior to 9/11 and it would be so again if the Taliban returned to power with al-Qaeda backing. NATO can prevent this indefinitely as long as it is willing to commit significant military and economic resources to a counter-insurgency effort. It cannot eliminate the threat, however, as long as the Afghan insurgents enjoy sanctuary in and support from Pakistan. Alternatively, this objective could be achieved if the Taliban could be persuaded to cut its ties to al-Qaeda and end its insurgency in exchange for some role in Afghan governance short of total control.
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12 |
ID:
108407
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13 |
ID:
089845
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Publication |
2009.
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Summary/Abstract |
The political questions in Afghanistan are difficult and complex. While the new US approach has much to be commended, there is still cause for alarm. Legitimacy and governance remain a massive challenge. Elections are a vital next step-but many doubt the credibility of the coming vote. Effective institution-building is threatened by an incoherent approach that does not grapple with the key issues, which are ultimately political.
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14 |
ID:
145544
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Publication |
New Delhi, Pentagon Press, 2016.
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Description |
xii, 195p.hbk
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Standard Number |
9788182749030
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Copies: C:1/I:0,R:0,Q:0
Circulation
Accession# | Call# | Current Location | Status | Policy | Location |
058692 | 327.1/ABD 058692 | Main | On Shelf | General | |
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15 |
ID:
103631
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Publication |
2011.
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Summary/Abstract |
Afghanistan in 2010 witnessed a number of important events including cabinet changes, legislative elections, and several major international conferences focused on its problems. It continued to be confronted by long-term problems of insecurity, compounded by uncertainty about both the trajectory of U.S. policy and the legitimacy of its own rulers.
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16 |
ID:
113911
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Publication |
2012.
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Summary/Abstract |
Afghanistan confronted further turbulence in 2011, involving the assassinations of prominent figures, tense regional relations, and uncertainty about where the draw down of foreign forces in Afghanistan might lead. Popular confidence in Afghanistan's future direction remains weak, and President Hamid Karzai has had little success in boosting his government's standing.
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17 |
ID:
154421
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18 |
ID:
178427
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Summary/Abstract |
This article examines the emergence of the neo-Taliban and its encroachment in non-Pashtun regions after the debacle of the old Taliban following the post 9/11 US-led NATO intervention in Afghanistan. It seeks to understand what aspirations drive the neo-Taliban and how they have reframed their ideology after 2001, leading to growing acceptance of a future role for the neo-Taliban in Afghanistan, while foreign-led counterinsurgency seems to fail. The article argues that due to the extremely fractious nature and continuing precariousness of the Afghan political climate, the neo-Taliban could emerge as a formidable power, with an agenda of bringing peace and stability to the entire ‘Af-Pak’ region. However, to what extent the neo-Taliban may be successful in countering widely held perceptions that it is a Pashtun nationalist movement, antagonistic to women, dissent and minorities, remains part of the challenging puzzle, as much for analysts as for the movement itself, which is not trusted in terms of delivering good governance in Afghanistan.
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19 |
ID:
081181
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20 |
ID:
130865
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Publication |
2014.
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Summary/Abstract |
Afghanistan's geostrategic potential is hampered by domestic weakness, regional tensions and major-power competition. Historically, Afghanistan's position at the junction between Asia and Europe has not only made it susceptible to outside invasions and influence, but also rendered it an important conduit for cross-continental interactions. The Greco-Bactrian (250-150 BCE), Kushan (30-375 AD) and Sassanid (224-651 AD) empires derived much of their wealth from the Silk Road, a series of interlinked trading networks criss-crossing the Eurasian land mass and centred around what is now known as Afghanistan. These routes served as the main arteries of east-west trade and transportation, until the disintegration of the Mongol Empire in 1368 AD effectively dismantled the network.
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