Warlords and Coalition Politics in Post-Soviet States

Warlords and Coalition Politics in Post-Soviet States

Author: Jesse Driscoll

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2015-07-02

Total Pages: 265

ISBN-13: 1316299309

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The break-up of the USSR was unexpected and unexpectedly peaceful. Though a third of the new states fell prey to violent civil conflict, anarchy on the post-Soviet periphery, when it occurred, was quickly cauterized. This book argues that this outcome had nothing to do with security guarantees by Russia or the United Nations and everything to do with local innovation by ruthless warlords, who competed and colluded in a high-risk coalition formation game. Drawing on a structured comparison of Georgian and Tajik militia members, the book combines rich comparative data with formal modeling, treating the post-Soviet space as an extraordinary laboratory to observe the limits of great powers' efforts to shape domestic institutions in weak states.


Book Synopsis Warlords and Coalition Politics in Post-Soviet States by : Jesse Driscoll

Download or read book Warlords and Coalition Politics in Post-Soviet States written by Jesse Driscoll and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2015-07-02 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The break-up of the USSR was unexpected and unexpectedly peaceful. Though a third of the new states fell prey to violent civil conflict, anarchy on the post-Soviet periphery, when it occurred, was quickly cauterized. This book argues that this outcome had nothing to do with security guarantees by Russia or the United Nations and everything to do with local innovation by ruthless warlords, who competed and colluded in a high-risk coalition formation game. Drawing on a structured comparison of Georgian and Tajik militia members, the book combines rich comparative data with formal modeling, treating the post-Soviet space as an extraordinary laboratory to observe the limits of great powers' efforts to shape domestic institutions in weak states.


Warlord Survival

Warlord Survival

Author: Romain Malejacq

Publisher: Cornell University Press

Published: 2020-01-15

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 150174643X

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How do warlords survive and even thrive in contexts that are explicitly set up to undermine them? How do they rise after each fall? Warlord Survival answers these questions. Drawing on hundreds of in-depth interviews in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2018, with ministers, governors, a former vice-president, warlords and their entourages, opposition leaders, diplomats, NGO workers, and local journalists and researchers, Romain Malejacq provides a full investigation of how warlords adapt and explains why weak states like Afghanistan allow it to happen. Malejacq follows the careers of four warlords in Herat, Sheberghan, and Panjshir—Ismail Khan, Abdul Rashid Dostum, Ahmad Shah Massoud, and Mohammad Qasim Fahim). He shows how they have successfully negotiated complicated political environments to survive ever since the beginning of the Soviet-Afghan war. The picture he paints in Warlord Survival is one of astute political entrepreneurs with a proven ability to organize violence. Warlords exert authority through a process in which they combine, instrumentalize, and convert different forms of power to prevent the emergence of a strong, centralized state. But, as Malejacq shows, the personal relationships and networks fundamental to the authority of Ismail Khan, Dostum, Massoud, and Fahim are not necessarily contrary to bureaucratic state authority. In fact, these four warlords, and others like them, offer durable and flexible forms of power in unstable, violent countries.


Book Synopsis Warlord Survival by : Romain Malejacq

Download or read book Warlord Survival written by Romain Malejacq and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2020-01-15 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do warlords survive and even thrive in contexts that are explicitly set up to undermine them? How do they rise after each fall? Warlord Survival answers these questions. Drawing on hundreds of in-depth interviews in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2018, with ministers, governors, a former vice-president, warlords and their entourages, opposition leaders, diplomats, NGO workers, and local journalists and researchers, Romain Malejacq provides a full investigation of how warlords adapt and explains why weak states like Afghanistan allow it to happen. Malejacq follows the careers of four warlords in Herat, Sheberghan, and Panjshir—Ismail Khan, Abdul Rashid Dostum, Ahmad Shah Massoud, and Mohammad Qasim Fahim). He shows how they have successfully negotiated complicated political environments to survive ever since the beginning of the Soviet-Afghan war. The picture he paints in Warlord Survival is one of astute political entrepreneurs with a proven ability to organize violence. Warlords exert authority through a process in which they combine, instrumentalize, and convert different forms of power to prevent the emergence of a strong, centralized state. But, as Malejacq shows, the personal relationships and networks fundamental to the authority of Ismail Khan, Dostum, Massoud, and Fahim are not necessarily contrary to bureaucratic state authority. In fact, these four warlords, and others like them, offer durable and flexible forms of power in unstable, violent countries.


Warlords, Strongman Governors, and the State in Afghanistan

Warlords, Strongman Governors, and the State in Afghanistan

Author: Dipali Mukhopadhyay

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2014-02-13

Total Pages: 387

ISBN-13: 110772919X

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Warlords have come to represent enemies of peace, security, and 'good governance' in the collective intellectual imagination. This book asserts that not all warlords are created equal. Under certain conditions, some become effective governors on behalf of the state. This provocative argument is based on extensive fieldwork in Afghanistan, where Mukhopadhyay examined warlord-governors who have served as valuable exponents of the Karzai regime in its struggle to assert control over key segments of the countryside. She explores the complex ecosystems that came to constitute provincial political life after 2001 and exposes the rise of 'strongman' governance in two provinces. While this brand of governance falls far short of international expectations, its emergence reflects the reassertion of the Afghan state in material and symbolic terms that deserve our attention. This book pushes past canonical views of warlordism and state building to consider the logic of the weak state as it has arisen in challenging, conflict-ridden societies like Afghanistan.


Book Synopsis Warlords, Strongman Governors, and the State in Afghanistan by : Dipali Mukhopadhyay

Download or read book Warlords, Strongman Governors, and the State in Afghanistan written by Dipali Mukhopadhyay and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2014-02-13 with total page 387 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Warlords have come to represent enemies of peace, security, and 'good governance' in the collective intellectual imagination. This book asserts that not all warlords are created equal. Under certain conditions, some become effective governors on behalf of the state. This provocative argument is based on extensive fieldwork in Afghanistan, where Mukhopadhyay examined warlord-governors who have served as valuable exponents of the Karzai regime in its struggle to assert control over key segments of the countryside. She explores the complex ecosystems that came to constitute provincial political life after 2001 and exposes the rise of 'strongman' governance in two provinces. While this brand of governance falls far short of international expectations, its emergence reflects the reassertion of the Afghan state in material and symbolic terms that deserve our attention. This book pushes past canonical views of warlordism and state building to consider the logic of the weak state as it has arisen in challenging, conflict-ridden societies like Afghanistan.


Transforming Tajikistan

Transforming Tajikistan

Author: Hélène Thibault

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2018-01-31

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 1786723123

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Tajikistan is a key state in Central Asia, and will become crucial to the rHélène Thibault is assistant professor in Political Science at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan since 2016. Prior to that, she had been a postdoctoral researcher at the Chair for the Study of Religious Pluralism and the Center for International Studies at the Université de Montréal. Apart from research activities, she also took part in multiple election observation missions with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Ukraine.egional power balance as it transitions away from Soviet government systems and responds to the rise of Chinese financial power alongside the continuing presence of Russian military might. This book demonstrates how Soviet structures in Tajikistan have been transformed into state structures, and how national identities are formed. Helene Thibault focuses on the differences between secular nationhood in Tajikistan, and an increasingly popular and influential 'born-again' Muslim identity. Featuring extensive and original primary-source material, including 12 months of ethnographic fieldwork, Thibault demonstrates the profound and lasting influence of Soviet power structures and attitudes, and how secular and religious identities clash when building a new state in the region.


Book Synopsis Transforming Tajikistan by : Hélène Thibault

Download or read book Transforming Tajikistan written by Hélène Thibault and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-01-31 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tajikistan is a key state in Central Asia, and will become crucial to the rHélène Thibault is assistant professor in Political Science at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan since 2016. Prior to that, she had been a postdoctoral researcher at the Chair for the Study of Religious Pluralism and the Center for International Studies at the Université de Montréal. Apart from research activities, she also took part in multiple election observation missions with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Ukraine.egional power balance as it transitions away from Soviet government systems and responds to the rise of Chinese financial power alongside the continuing presence of Russian military might. This book demonstrates how Soviet structures in Tajikistan have been transformed into state structures, and how national identities are formed. Helene Thibault focuses on the differences between secular nationhood in Tajikistan, and an increasingly popular and influential 'born-again' Muslim identity. Featuring extensive and original primary-source material, including 12 months of ethnographic fieldwork, Thibault demonstrates the profound and lasting influence of Soviet power structures and attitudes, and how secular and religious identities clash when building a new state in the region.


Unveiling Dynamics, Legitimacy, and Governance in Contemporary States

Unveiling Dynamics, Legitimacy, and Governance in Contemporary States

Author: Ryszard Ficek

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published:

Total Pages: 351

ISBN-13: 303155356X

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Book Synopsis Unveiling Dynamics, Legitimacy, and Governance in Contemporary States by : Ryszard Ficek

Download or read book Unveiling Dynamics, Legitimacy, and Governance in Contemporary States written by Ryszard Ficek and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


The Origins of the Civil War in Tajikistan

The Origins of the Civil War in Tajikistan

Author: Tim Epkenhans

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2016-10-26

Total Pages: 415

ISBN-13: 1498532799

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In May 1992 political and social tensions in the former Soviet Republic of Tajikistan escalated to a devastating civil war, which killed approximately 40,000-100,000 people and displaced more than one million. The enormous challenge of the Soviet Union’s disintegration compounded by inner-elite conflicts, ideological disputes and state failure triggered a downward spiral to one of the worst violent conflicts in the post-Soviet space. This book explains the causes of the Civil War in Tajikistan with a historical narrative recognizing long term structural causes of the conflict originating in the Soviet transformation of Central Asia since the 1920s as well as short-term causes triggered by Perestroika or Glasnost and the rapid dismantling of the Soviet Union. For the first time, a major publication on the Tajik Civil War addresses the many contested events, their sequences and how individuals and groups shaped the dynamics of events or responded to them. The book scrutinizes the role of regionalism, political Islam, masculinities and violent non-state actors in the momentous years between Perestroika and independence drawing on rich autobiographical accounts written by key actors of the unfolding conflict. Paired with complementary sources such as the media coverage and interviews, these autobiographies provide insights how Tajik politicians, field commanders and intellectuals perceived and rationalized the outbreak of the Civil War within the complex context of post-Soviet decolonization, Islamic revival and nationalist renaissance.


Book Synopsis The Origins of the Civil War in Tajikistan by : Tim Epkenhans

Download or read book The Origins of the Civil War in Tajikistan written by Tim Epkenhans and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2016-10-26 with total page 415 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In May 1992 political and social tensions in the former Soviet Republic of Tajikistan escalated to a devastating civil war, which killed approximately 40,000-100,000 people and displaced more than one million. The enormous challenge of the Soviet Union’s disintegration compounded by inner-elite conflicts, ideological disputes and state failure triggered a downward spiral to one of the worst violent conflicts in the post-Soviet space. This book explains the causes of the Civil War in Tajikistan with a historical narrative recognizing long term structural causes of the conflict originating in the Soviet transformation of Central Asia since the 1920s as well as short-term causes triggered by Perestroika or Glasnost and the rapid dismantling of the Soviet Union. For the first time, a major publication on the Tajik Civil War addresses the many contested events, their sequences and how individuals and groups shaped the dynamics of events or responded to them. The book scrutinizes the role of regionalism, political Islam, masculinities and violent non-state actors in the momentous years between Perestroika and independence drawing on rich autobiographical accounts written by key actors of the unfolding conflict. Paired with complementary sources such as the media coverage and interviews, these autobiographies provide insights how Tajik politicians, field commanders and intellectuals perceived and rationalized the outbreak of the Civil War within the complex context of post-Soviet decolonization, Islamic revival and nationalist renaissance.


The Politics of Police Reform

The Politics of Police Reform

Author: Erica Marat

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2018-03-01

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 0190861509

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There is a Russian saying that "police mirror society." The gist of this is that every society is policed to the extent that it allows itself to be policed. Centralized in control but decentralized in their reach, the police are remarkably similar in structure, chain of command, and their relationships with the political elite across post-Soviet nations--they also remain one of the least reformed post-communist institutions. As a powerful state organ, the Soviet-style militarized police have resisted change despite democratic transformations in the overall political context, including rounds of competitive elections and growing civil society. While consensus between citizens and the state about reform may be possible in democratic nations, it is considerably more difficult to achieve in authoritarian states. Across post-Soviet countries, such discussions most often occur between political elites and powerful non-state actors, such as criminal syndicates and nationalistic ethnic groups, rather than the wider citizenry. Even in countries where one or more rounds of democratic elections have taken place since 1991, empowered citizens and politicians have not renegotiated the way states police and coerce society. On the contrary, in many post-Soviet countries, police functions have expanded to serve the interests of the ruling political elites. What does it take to reform a post-Soviet police force? This book explores the conditions in which a meaningful transformation of the police is likely to succeed and when it will fail. Departing from the conventional interpretation of the police as merely an institution of coercion, this book defines it as a medium for state-society consensus on the limits of the state's legitimate use of violence. It thus considers policing not as a way to measure the state's capacity to coerce society, but rather as a reflection of a complex society bound together by a web of casual interactions and political structures. The book compares reform efforts in Ukraine, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan, finding that bottom-up public mobilization is likely to emerge in the aftermath of transformative violence--an incident when the usual patterns of policing are interrupted with unprecedented brutality against vulnerable individuals. Ultimately, The Politics of Police Reform examines the various pathways to transforming how the state relates to society through policing.


Book Synopsis The Politics of Police Reform by : Erica Marat

Download or read book The Politics of Police Reform written by Erica Marat and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018-03-01 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is a Russian saying that "police mirror society." The gist of this is that every society is policed to the extent that it allows itself to be policed. Centralized in control but decentralized in their reach, the police are remarkably similar in structure, chain of command, and their relationships with the political elite across post-Soviet nations--they also remain one of the least reformed post-communist institutions. As a powerful state organ, the Soviet-style militarized police have resisted change despite democratic transformations in the overall political context, including rounds of competitive elections and growing civil society. While consensus between citizens and the state about reform may be possible in democratic nations, it is considerably more difficult to achieve in authoritarian states. Across post-Soviet countries, such discussions most often occur between political elites and powerful non-state actors, such as criminal syndicates and nationalistic ethnic groups, rather than the wider citizenry. Even in countries where one or more rounds of democratic elections have taken place since 1991, empowered citizens and politicians have not renegotiated the way states police and coerce society. On the contrary, in many post-Soviet countries, police functions have expanded to serve the interests of the ruling political elites. What does it take to reform a post-Soviet police force? This book explores the conditions in which a meaningful transformation of the police is likely to succeed and when it will fail. Departing from the conventional interpretation of the police as merely an institution of coercion, this book defines it as a medium for state-society consensus on the limits of the state's legitimate use of violence. It thus considers policing not as a way to measure the state's capacity to coerce society, but rather as a reflection of a complex society bound together by a web of casual interactions and political structures. The book compares reform efforts in Ukraine, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan, finding that bottom-up public mobilization is likely to emerge in the aftermath of transformative violence--an incident when the usual patterns of policing are interrupted with unprecedented brutality against vulnerable individuals. Ultimately, The Politics of Police Reform examines the various pathways to transforming how the state relates to society through policing.


Russia and Eurasia 2017-2018

Russia and Eurasia 2017-2018

Author: Brent Hierman

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2017-09-01

Total Pages: 345

ISBN-13: 1475835175

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Published and updated annually, Russia and Eurasia deals with the twelve independent republics that became members of the Commonwealth of Independent States following the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1992. The text focuses strongly on recent economic and political developments with shorter sections dealing with foreign policy, the military, religion, education, and specific cultural elements that help to define each republic and differentiate one from the other. Approximately one-third of the book is devoted to Russia, but also includes sections on Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. How the Commonwealth of Independent States came into being and how it has evolved since 1992 is also discussed. The combination of factual accuracy and up-to-date detail along with its informed projections make this an outstanding resource for researchers, practitioners in international development, media professionals, government officials, potential investors and students.


Book Synopsis Russia and Eurasia 2017-2018 by : Brent Hierman

Download or read book Russia and Eurasia 2017-2018 written by Brent Hierman and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2017-09-01 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Published and updated annually, Russia and Eurasia deals with the twelve independent republics that became members of the Commonwealth of Independent States following the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1992. The text focuses strongly on recent economic and political developments with shorter sections dealing with foreign policy, the military, religion, education, and specific cultural elements that help to define each republic and differentiate one from the other. Approximately one-third of the book is devoted to Russia, but also includes sections on Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. How the Commonwealth of Independent States came into being and how it has evolved since 1992 is also discussed. The combination of factual accuracy and up-to-date detail along with its informed projections make this an outstanding resource for researchers, practitioners in international development, media professionals, government officials, potential investors and students.


Russia and Eurasia 2018-2019

Russia and Eurasia 2018-2019

Author: Brent Hierman

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2018-09-30

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 147584154X

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Published and updated annually, Russia and Eurasia deals with the twelve independent republics that became members of the Commonwealth of Independent States following the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1992.


Book Synopsis Russia and Eurasia 2018-2019 by : Brent Hierman

Download or read book Russia and Eurasia 2018-2019 written by Brent Hierman and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2018-09-30 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Published and updated annually, Russia and Eurasia deals with the twelve independent republics that became members of the Commonwealth of Independent States following the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1992.


Russia and Eurasia 2019-2020

Russia and Eurasia 2019-2020

Author:

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2019-10-11

Total Pages: 359

ISBN-13: 1475852487

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Published and updated annually, Russia and Eurasia deals with twelve sovereign states that became independent following the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991. Approximately one-third of the book is devoted to Russia. The remainder of the book is comprised of separate chapters on Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. The text focuses heavily on recent economic and political developments within these twelve states. Each country chapter offers descriptions and overviews of the respective governmental institutions, key leaders, civil society dynamics, and economic conditions within each state. It supplements this focus with shorter sections dealing with historical developments, demographics, foreign policy, and cultural elements. Each chapter concludes with brief projections of future developments within each state. The combination of factual accuracy and up-to-date detail along with its informed projections make this an outstanding resource for students, researchers, practitioners in international development, media professionals, government officials, and potential investors.


Book Synopsis Russia and Eurasia 2019-2020 by :

Download or read book Russia and Eurasia 2019-2020 written by and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2019-10-11 with total page 359 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Published and updated annually, Russia and Eurasia deals with twelve sovereign states that became independent following the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991. Approximately one-third of the book is devoted to Russia. The remainder of the book is comprised of separate chapters on Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. The text focuses heavily on recent economic and political developments within these twelve states. Each country chapter offers descriptions and overviews of the respective governmental institutions, key leaders, civil society dynamics, and economic conditions within each state. It supplements this focus with shorter sections dealing with historical developments, demographics, foreign policy, and cultural elements. Each chapter concludes with brief projections of future developments within each state. The combination of factual accuracy and up-to-date detail along with its informed projections make this an outstanding resource for students, researchers, practitioners in international development, media professionals, government officials, and potential investors.