Wednesday 28 July 2010

The Taliban Beyond the Pashtuns by LSE's Antonio Giustozzi


The Taliban Beyond the Pashtuns
Antonio Giustozzi
Afghanistan Paper #5


Although the Taliban remain a largely Pashtun movement in terms of their composition, they have started making significant inroads among other ethnic groups. In many cases, the Taliban have co-opted, in addition to bandits, disgruntled militia commanders previously linked to other organizations, and the relationship between them is far from solid. There is also, however, emerging evidence of grassroots recruitment of small groups of ideologically committed Uzbek, Turkmen and Tajik Taliban. While even in northern Afghanistan the bulk of the insurgency is still Pashtun, the emerging trend should not be underestimated.


http://www.cigionline.org/sites/default/files/Afghanistan_Paper_5.pdf

Image and text from CIGIonline

Monday 19 July 2010

Interesting new donation : Kuntu fī Afghānistān : mushāhadāt wa-yawmīyāt min bilād al-jihād...wa-al-irhāb / Turkī al-Dakhīl


Just catalogued an interesting new donation to the Library's collection: Kuntu fī Afghānistān : mushāhadāt wa-yawmīyāt min bilād al-jihād...wa-al-irhāb by Turkī al-Dakhīl.

I don't have time to read it, but if you do then check it out! Apparently, copies sold like hot cakes when the book was first published......

Alfred Friendly Press Fellowships for Reporters and Editors

Alfred Friendly Press Fellowships

Applications due August 1, 2010.

Each year the Alfred Friendly Press Fellowships (AFPF) brings
approximately ten mid-career reporters and editors--usually between
the ages of 25 and 35--to America for a six-month, in-depth, practical
introduction to the professional and ethical standards of the U.S.
print media. Among those who have succeeded are Fellows who have
become top editors and newsroom managers, founders of news outlets and
public relation firms, section heads, bureau chiefs, chief or foreign
correspondents, and university professors. Many have received
Fulbright, Neiman, Reuters and Yale World Fellowships as well as
Chevening Scholarships, and others have received awards, prizes,
overseas assignments and/or found jobs outside of their home country.

Fellows arrive in Washington, DC, for a two-week group orientation
before they start as staff reporters, one per host, in newsrooms
across the United States. Usually assigned to the city desk to cover
local news and features, Fellows may rotate among other
sections--arts, business, editorial features, online, etc. With the
support and commitment of our host publications, Fellows can enter
fully into daily newsroom activities. Guided by talented host
reporters and editors, they are able to learn firsthand the practical
realities and influential role of journalism in this country.

Of the many training programs available to journalists, the Alfred
Friendly Press Fellowships is the only one to offer a non-academic,
long-term, hands-on experience in a single newsroom. The late Alfred
Friendly, a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter and former managing editor
of The Washington Post, believed that working side by side with
reporters and editors is the best way to absorb the practical
realities of journalism in this country and the instrumental role it
plays in our society.

Alfred Friendly set the following three primary objectives for the
fellowship program:

- Enable Fellows to gain a practical understanding of the function
and significance of the free press in American society.
- Provide Fellows with experience in reporting, writing, and editing
that will enhance future professional performance.
- Foster continuing ties between free press institutions and
journalists in the United States and their counterparts in other countries.

Criteria of Eligibility

- An excellent command of both written and spoken English as all
activities are conducted in English;
- At least three years of professional experience as a journalist in
the print media;
- Current employment as a journalist with an independent print media
organization in the country of citizenship;
- Early to mid-career status;
- A demonstrated personal commitment to a career in journalism in the
home country.

For more information, and to apply, please visit:
http://www.pressfellowships.org/overview. html

Thursday 1 July 2010

New Electronic Resource - Regulating Conflicts of Interest in Challenging Environments : The Case of Azerbaijan

A newly published report on Azerbaijan has just been added to the library catalogue. This report should be of interest to students of development, or anyone interested in the post-Soviet Caucasus. Click on the link below.

Regulating conflicts of interest in challenging environments : the case of Azerbaijan by Quentin Reed

Engaging Civil Society in the Nagorno Karabakh Conflict

A new publication on EU relations with civil society in the context of
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict has been published, within the MICROCON
programme.

The title of the publication and the link are below.

PWP11: Engaging Civil Society in the Nagorno Karabakh Conflict: What
Role for the EU and its Neighbourhood Policy?
(http://www.microconflict.eu/publications/PWP11_LS.pdf) - Licinia Simao

Simao L. 2010. Engaging Civil Society in the Nagorno Karabakh
Conflict: What Role for the EU and its Neighbourhood Policy?. MICROCON
Policy Working Paper 11, Brighton: MICROCON.

For further information, please contact:

MICROCON: A Micro Level Analysis of Violent Conflict, Institute of
Development Studies at
the University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RE
Tel: +44 (0)1273 872891
Email: info@microconflict.eu
Web: www.microconflict.eu