Asia

Since the fall of the Taliban, Youth have emerged as an important political and economic force in Afghanistan.  They are one of the most important demographic groups, with nearly two-third of the population being under the age of 25 years.

New forms of protest movements have made their entry into the political arena in recent years in India. This study revisits the recent history of new protest movements in India. It analyses their causes and actors, their dynamics and forms of action, and their supporters and critics.

On March 8th, 2014 the Afghan Women's Network (AWN) in Kabul and in all 34 provinces has launched the "Women Vision 2024" paper. The paper has been developed through consultation meetings of leading women rights activists and has been consulted with women in all 34 provinces of the country.

After more than a decade of an international intervention and close to the proclaimed second post-2014 transition phase, women's political participation remains precarious and volatile in Afghanistan despite inroads made. Women activists and lawmakers demand due diligence for promises made, inroads built, spaces carved out and steps to be taken to ensure a more peaceful post-2014 Afghanistan.

Successful elections and political transition in 2014 are crucial for the future relationship between Afghanistan and the international community. Traditional elites are somewhat ambiguous regarding the elections.

This publication is designed to provide a differentiated view of Pakistan’s complex political processes and social challenges to a broad international audience. Authors from a variety of disciplines present their analyses of Pakistan’s deficits and shortcomings, as well as their ideas and visions for a more democratic and peaceful future

This publication is an outcome of a 6-Month research on "Different Religion Coexisting in Pakistan" carried out by South Asian Research and Resource Centre (SARRC) in collaboration with Heinrich Böll Stiftung Pakistan

This second issue of "Perspectives Asia" provides a forum for the voices of authors from various Asian countries to express their thoughts on possible development models for the region. How can we achieve prosperity for all, without doing long-term damage to nature or threatening the subsistence of entire populations?

The overarching objective of this paper is to provide recommendations for the implementation of gender quotas in Cambodia. The paper first considers why it is important to achieve gender equality in politics, and asks eight individuals, who are working in Cambodia to promote the role of women in politics, why they think it is necessary for women to be represented in politics.

This paper examines the ongoing land registration process in six indigenous villages in Cambodia’s northeast. It was prepared for presentation at the "Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty" in April 2013.

The mining sector offers a good opportunity to invite investment and generate revenues for the development of a diversified economy and to work on improving relations between the Afghan state and its citizens.

In this issue, our authors report on conflicts stemming from coal and copper mining in Afghanistan, India, and Myanmar. The articles on Cambodia and on Inner Mongolia in China illustrate how the traditional economic models and ways of life of indigenous populations suffer from the unrestrained exploitation of raw materials.

Publication Series on Democracy 31: The present study by Andrea Fleschenberg shows that in national and international debates about the transition process in Afghanistan women’s voices are seldom present, or taken into consideration.

Despite the tens of millions of dollars in aid and concessional loans being spent in Cambodia, the evidence shows that tenure insecurity, forced evictions and large-scale land grabbing are escalating to alarminglevels. The paper calls on development partners to adopt a ten-pronged framework for a human rights approach to development.

The aim of publishing the manual on environment is raising public awareness on environment and its protection measures.

All over the world, information technologies and the internet have taken an increasingly important role in communication, challenging the conventional means of news consumption. Our office in Thailand has performed interviews with academics, journalists and activists to explore the role of new media in social movements in Thailand, and how it will develop.

The 2007–2008 world food price crisis caused political and economical instability and social unrest in both poor and developed nations. This was only the latest example for a functioning food system being an indispensable pillar of a stable economy and a society capable of reproducing itself. A new study outlines steps how the intergovernmental Committee on World Food Security could be expanded towards a politically relevant international steering committee.

How People Define Violence and Justice is a joint research project of ACSFo and HBS on international crimes, massacres, rapes, murders, destruction of residential areas, homicide and imprisonment of intellectuals, torture and human rights abuses of the past fifty years. The standards for justice and human rights violation in this project are defined by people. Views, beliefs and utterances of respondents constitute the basis of this research.

With their presentation of specific topics and discourses, the media construct specific realities that shape a society’s images of other regions. This comprehensive study analyzes the portrayal of China in German media. Originally published in German, this summary summary shows the essential results.

Nuclear Energy generation is slated to rise in the coming decades from the present 3 percent to upto 20 percent in the energy mix of India. With climate change concerns, nuclear energy is now being brought back and reconsidered as 'clean' and 'zero cost' energy. The amount of waste created will increase manifold.