Asia

In Afghanistan civil society organizations, youth groups and networks were founded over the last years to consolidate democracy and endeavor to push forward their participation in politics and society. The Contact Group which is an umbrella these organizations designed a strategic plan about their work in 2016 an 2017.

The democratic environment over the last decade provided a crucial opportunity for civil and political activities in Afghanistan in which not only political parties but also civil society organizations, youth groups and networks were founded to consolidate democracy and endeavor to push forward their participation in politics and society.

In this action research project, experiences with quota designs, challenges and achievements of quota parliamentarians, in terms of substantive representation, are reviewed in Afghanistan. The focus lies on the concept of political patriarchy, that is, an androcentric to sometimes even misogynist political configuration in relation to (i) power relations, (ii) socio-political culture and gender roles prescriptions, (iii) institutional setups, practices and discourses.

In this edition of Perspectives Asia, the authors highlight certain aspects of gender relations and offer some very personal insights into the situations of women and men in Asia.

Water quantity and quality are deteriorating and the struggle among all common water users is likely to intensify. This may become even more visible in river basins that cross political boundaries of different countries. History reveals that in many situations, this mutual need may bring strategic cooperation rather than open conflict, and lead to peaceful solutions to water disputes. Over the last 67 years, we have witnessed only 37 severe water disputes globally, in comparison to 295 water cooperation treaties (UN Water 2008: 3).

Water quantity and quality are deteriorating and the struggle among all common water users is likely to intensify. This may become even more visible in river basins that cross political boundaries of different countries. Dr. Aneel Salman highlights in this paper the significance of shifting from techno-centric water governance models towards inclusive and sustainable hydro-diplomacy. The paper briefly looks at various transboundary cases of successful, unsuccessful and potential hydro-diplomacy cases to understand the various dimensions of shared water governance for South Asia, Africa and Europe.

In this study, the authors, Farzana Bari, and Andrea Fleschenberg, are identifying commonalities and differences of Gender Quotas in the parliaments in Afghanistan and Pakistan and contextualize women’s political participation and gender democracy worldwide. From the findings of the country studies, they are drawing concrete recommendations for practice.

In this study the authors, Farzana Bari and Andrea Fleschenberg, are identifying commonalities and differences of Gender Quotas in the parliaments in Afghanistan and Pakistan and contextualize women’s political participation and gender democracy worldwide. From the findings of the country studies, they are drawing concrete recommendations for practice.

The study focuses on the impact on security and development by the Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India gas pipeline (TAPI), which is one of the most ambitious and long debated infrastructure projects in Afghanistan.

What are the current developments in Foreign Direct Investment by EU countries in the agricultural sectors of Sub-Saharan Africa and India? This study gives detailed background information.