Somehow the confluence of my pleasure reading seems to bear directly on events that we explore repeatedly in international politics. Recently, I have read two books that portray Western attitudes about corruption, lack of transparency, election abuses, and the relationships between politicians and their consituencies. I am not going to do a full book review here–just a few quotes from […]
1. On Saturday, a bomb exploded close to Tajikistan's highest court in Dushanbe. No person was hurt, and the bomb only damaged windows. It could have been so much worse. The city's chief prosecutor, Kurbanali Mukhammetov, said that the motive for the bombing was not clear, but he suspects IMU activity. However, it might also have to do […]
Hasten his musters and conduct his powers: I must change arms at home, and give the distaff Into my husband's hands. –King Lear, (IV, ii) The personal, the private, the political, the public, and the press issues are nearly inseparable in the Aliev-Nazarbaev contretemps. I feel we are at once watching for gossip, witnessing a future […]
Here is a short, 1.5 minute video, produced by UNICEF, that illustrates the conduct of polio immunization in Afghanistan. I alluded to this immunization drive in a previous post. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/SrQtRYjjLPM” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] The details such as the chalk markers are very interesting procedural points that you rarely get in news articles or scholarly papers–the details, […]
In part 1 of this series, I described the extremely desirable and/or risk-reducing incentives that make Afghanistan's opium production persistent. Changing opium production requires a different landscape of economic incentives and disincentives, which is what Afghanistan's agricultural aid programs aim to provide on many levels. Chief among the disincentives include poppy eradication and other law enforcement measures; […]
Kyrgyzstan's schools will now teach the Epic of Manas as a required component of the curriculum. IWPR did not say whether this was to go to grade school, secondary school, or university (or all of the above). Like Homer's epics, the Epic of Manas is part of an oral tradition; unlike Homer, his work is still […]
Something new and significant: a possible two-party state? Recently Nur-Otan, President Nazarbaev's party, has consolidated with some smaller opposition parties. Now the opposition takes steps: Kazakhstan's opposition parties, Ak Zhol and the National Social Democrats, have merged. The new opposition party hopes to make a difference in the next Parliamentary elections. While we’re all waiting […]
Last week, Secretary of Defense Gates measured the costs of Ganci AFB in Manas against the costs of other bases maintained by foreign powers in Kyrgyzstan. This whirlwind trip-with-comparative analysis, designed to keep Ganci open, was followed by today's visit from a high-ranking U.S. official, Undersecretary of State Boucher. Mr. Boucher made the U.S. position quite clear […]
Through twenty-six years of war and repression, Afghanistan has lost its ability to meet its public health needs. The efforts to rebuild health care systems continues, with mixed results. This was illustrated for me yesterday, when I read Asne Seierstad's The Bookseller of Kabul. Though Seierstad's book focused upon family relations, disease just kept cropping up over […]
This week I received a flock of new State Department fact sheets on H5N1 Avian influenza. The leader of these flying missives was : U.S. Government Support to Combat Avian and Pandemic Influenza — An Update , which reminds us of the potential seriousness of any viral mutation in creating a human flu pandemic. In the […]
With everything else going on in Kazakhstan right now, the following video is a nice reminder that elections still have to go to the people. Here is one of Mr. Nazarbaev's election videos in a series called: Don't Change Horses, or perhaps, Don't Change the Horse that has Carried You. I particularly like this one because it […]
I couldn't tell if Ferghana.ru was laughing or cursing (maybe both) when they wrote this article: Bob Gates saves US base from Kyrgyz authorities. Secretary Gates flew in from Afghanistan, compared base agreements between the U.S. and other countries with base arrangements in Kyrgyzstan, and then announced their parity to the Kyrgyz press. After the […]
Yesterday, the US House of Representatives voted for a USD 6.4 billion aid package for Afghanistan through 2010. According to yesterday's Reuters report, the House also stipulated that Afghanistan's aid should not go to provinces where officials are involved in drug trade or aiding insurgents. Reports on province-by-province governance will now be required for Congressional […]
Over at the Eurasian Transition Group Web site, Mr. Laubsch has translated into English and posted Rakhat Aliev's interview with Austria's Profil Magazine. In it, Mr. Aliev states that his nomination of Mr. Nazarbaev to King of Kazakhstan last year was an ironic statement, which I personally missed along with a bunch of others. Or. That […]
The undisclosed percentage of Aliev-Nazarbaeva shares in Nurbank has at last been reported at 51% in Financial Times. Along with the 6.3% owned by Mr. Aliev's father, we now know about 60% of Nurbank ownership is held by Aliev connections. I don't believe in conspiracy theories very often, for the simple reason that few people keep […]