Pashtun Jirga and prospects of peace and conflict resolution in Pakistan’s ‘tribal’ frontier

ABSTRACT

There is growing recognition and appreciation of traditional approaches towards peace and conflict resolution across the world. This article aims to highlight the crucial role and consequential importance of traditional mechanisms of peace and conflict resolution in Pakistan’s terror-hit Pashtun ‘tribal’ areas, formerly known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). These ‘peripheral’ areas of Pashtun tribes stand in relative isolation from the ‘centre’ of the Pakistani ruling establishment. Moreover, with the onset of militancy since 2001 in the Afghanistan–Pakistan region, the situation has turned worse for the local Pashtun tribes. The article discusses the changing role of traditional mechanisms and local structures of peace and conflict resolution, arguing that colonial legacies have failed to prevent, manage, resolve or transform conflicts in post-colonial states such as Pakistan. Furthermore, the Pashtun cultural code of Pashtunwali, along with its various tenets and structures, especially Jirga (Pashtun tribal council) and Lashkar (tribal militia), is also discussed in the article. The article concludes that the changing socio-political situation, along with the rise of the secular Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), is presenting a challenge to ‘tribal’ Pashtun patriarchal values as well as traditional structures like Jirga in the region.     

New media and strategic narratives: the Dutch referendum on Ukraine – EU Association Agreement in Ukrainian and Russian Internet blogs

ABSTRACT

This article analyses two confronting narratives authored by Ukrainian and Russian bloggers who reported the Dutch referendum held on 6 March 2016, and discussed Dutch citizens’ referendum vote on the Ukraine–EU Association Agreement. The considered narratives, addressed to the Ukrainian and Russian audiences respectively, are viewed as strategic because they specifically portray political actors of the referendum “drama” – the Netherlands, the European Union (EU), Ukraine and Russia. These actors are significant participants of European international relations, and their perceptions of one another are important for European security at the present time of critical diplomacy. In this paper, information about the DUTCH REFERENDUM obtained from the new media texts is regarded as a narrative-based political concept (NBPC). It is argued that this concept has different versions, or images that reflect the narrators’ biased perceptions imposed upon the public. Identification and comparison of such images require a particular methodology. Therefore, the objective of this paper is two-fold: to expose the two confronting versions of a strategically relevant political image, and to develop an authentic, interdisciplinary methodology for its analysis. The proposed methodology is informed by the ontology theory employed in cognitive science and cognitive linguistics.     

实施高度开放自由港政策推动横琴粤澳深度合作区建设

广东自贸区自成立以来,虽然在推动粤港澳深度合作方面初见成效,但自贸区范围内的生产要素流动仍有阻碍,经济商业活动缺乏更大的自由发挥空间。为充分发挥粤港澳综合优势,更好地构建与国际接轨的开放型经济新体制,推动澳门经济适度多元发展和深化粤澳合作,建议将澳门部分自由港政策延伸到横琴,参照世界高水平的开放形态和国际通行规则改革横琴现有体制,突破旧有行政区域划分造成的制度“藩篱”,以政策创新推动澳门和横琴的体制机制贯通、变通和融通,并在广泛调研的基础上提出具体方案建议,为解决内地与澳门存在的制度差异,形成生活和营商环境逐步趋同的“粤澳深度合作区”提供参考。     

齐鲁节日体育文化遗存研究

文章采用文献整理、实地调查和质的研究范式,梳理了齐鲁节日体育文化遗存的代表性项目及其特征,分析了这些项目所面临的障碍,并提出了促进项目传承保护的措施,即重构传统节日文化,推进节日体育文化遗存项目转型;加强传承主体保障,促进节日体育文化遗存顺利传续;提高齐鲁节日文化自觉,扩大节日体育习俗的社会参与;维护自然生态环境平衡,加强节日体育文化遗存实体建设。     

国家安全视角下的航行自由

《联合国海洋法公约》虽然规定了航行自由制度,但未解决军事航行活动与沿海国国防军事安全之间的冲突问题。这种冲突的化解需要借助于其他国际法律制度,特别是和平解决国际争端的法律制度。我国既有维护海洋主权的客观要求,又在海外具有越来越多战略利益,因而需要从总体战略上考虑对待航行自由的法律态度。为应对其他国家可能以维护海洋资源和生态环境安全为由,对航行活动进行单方面、不恰当的限制,我国还应积极倡导宽松的航行自由制度,充分运用该制度维护国家经济安全,为国家开展保障海上丝绸之路和能源通道安全的海外行动提供法律支撑。     

“一方有难,八方支援”在疫情防控中的实践效度与精神向度

无论从实践效度还是精神向度看,"一方有难,八方支援"都为打赢疫情防控的人民战争、总体战、阻击战贡献了巨大力量。从实践效度看,它是一种行动力量,彰显了中国特色社会主义制度优势;从精神向度看,它是一种精神力量,为抗击疫情筑牢了精神防线,提升了防疫效能,为培育社会主义核心价值观、繁荣社会主义先进文化、构建人类命运共同体发挥了应有的作用。     

检察机关应对入世问题研究

入世对检察机关的影响主要表现在检察机关执法观念陈旧、检察权定位不准确、检察体制改革不完备和检察行为不规范方面。为尽快适应入世要求 ,检察机关应更新执法观念 ,树立人权保护意识、诉讼效益观念、公益监督意识 ,正确定位检察权 ,健全检察体制 ,使检察行为进一步规范化、科学化、专业化     

简论邓小平优先发展农业的思想

邓小平关于农业问题的理论,不仅表现在对农业重要性以及与其他各产业发展关系的论述上,还体现在关于如何优先发展农业的论述中。他强调把解决好农业、农民问题放在各项工作的首位,要把优先发展农业作为指导经济建设和改革开放大业的根本方针。     

大学生对考试作弊的认知调查与分析

通过自编问卷对在杭就读的486名大学生进行了随机抽样,并辅以访谈法就大学生对考试作弊的认知情况进行了调查并作了分析,结果发现:作弊学生的数量越来越广,而且他们中大多对作弊行为表示接受;学生自身、教育的方式以及教师这三者都应对此承担起责任.     

论网络犯罪的现象和原因

网络犯罪是典型的计算机犯罪 ,网络的发展 ,既可以促进社会经济的全面发展 ,也有可能给人类社会带来不可估计的损失 ,我们应以客观的态度来看待这个问题。不能盲目惊喜于网络给我们社会带来的种种便利 ,过分夸张网络的无所不能 ,认为发展了科学技术就能自动地解决社会生活中的种种问题 ,而忽视它的不稳定性 ;也不能对网络全面否定 ,忽视网络对社会的推动作用 ,进而人为地限制网络的正常发展 ,这样更是得不偿失的。