The main subject of the thesis is the interpretation and evaluation of the Soviet invasion to Afghanistan and its implications for forming the policy of the Soviet Union towards Central Asian states. Core chapters of the thesis will be the first two chapters. The first one deals with internal politics and the situation in Afghanistan in the 1970s and 1980s. The second chapter describes the region of Central Asia, devotes itself to the key moments of the Cold War that are taking place in this area and have had an impact on the very origin and course of Soviet intervention in Afghanistan. The last two chapters give an insight into the interpretation of the Soviet invasion through Western media, especially the US attitude towards intervention and their position and influence in the Central Asia region. At least, the outline of the current developments in Afghanistan and the Central Asian countries after the collapse of the USSR is the last, fourth chapter. In the diploma thesis, information on the formation of Al-Qaida and the Taliban will be mentioned. The impacts on Afghanistan and the countries of Central Asia will be described to September 11, 2001. In conclusion, there is a summary of the issue. Key words: Afghanistan, soviet invasion, foreign policy, the Central Asia

Den 7 oktober 2001 startade kriget i Afghanistan, en konflikt som idag har pågått i nästan 12 år. Målet med operationen var att driva den talibanska ledningen från makten, samt att tillfångata Usama bin Ladin och andra ledare inom al-Qaida och därmed få ett slut på den säkra tillflyktsort som al-Qaida och andra terroristgrupper haft i Afghanistan. Corum och Johnson är två militärteoretiker som har forskat inom användandet av luftmakt i irreguljära konflikter. Dessa två har i sin bok Airpower in Small Wars formulerat 11 lärdomar som de anser att man bör ha i beaktning då man använder luftmakt i irreguljära konflikter. Fem av dessa lärdomar går att applicera direkt vid en analys på stridsflygsfunktionen, medan de andra sex behandlar områden som strategi, lufttransport och utbildning. I analysen framkommer det att vissa av dessa fem lärdomar går till stor del att skönja i hur stridsflyget har använts i kriget i Afghanistan, medan andra har tillämpats i mindre omfattning. De två punkter där utvecklingspotentialen bedöms vara hög avseende nyttjandet av stridsflyget är inom Undvika civila offer samt Använda markmålsoperationer vid konventionell krigföring. De tre andra lärdomar som har använts i analysen; Viktig roll för tekniskt avancerade flygsystem och vapen, Väl tillämpad jointförmåga samt Irreguljära krig är underrättelseintensiva ser man användas i större utsträckning, dock med visst utrymme för förbättring även här.

John A Warden III har en teori om hur luftkrig ska genomföras, som sedan slutet på 80-talet influerat bland annat USA i deras planering och genomförande av luftoperationer. Denna teori var som mest aktuell under Gulfkriget 1990-1991, där luftstridskrafterna genom ett agerade enligt Wardens teori gav stora effekter på konfliken. Detta arbete syftar mot att undersöka om Wardens teori fortfarande används, och vilka effekter detta agerande medför. Arbetet presenterar de begrepp som kan ses som centrala i Wardens teori och analyserar dessa mot en fallstudie som rör flygstridskrafternas agerande under inledningen av Operation Enduring Freedom i Afghanistan år 2001. Slutsatsen är att det finns spårbarhet av Wardens tankar om luftöverlägsenhet under hela perioden som arbetet berör. Däremot finns det endast spårbarhet av att koalitionen agerade enligt tyngdpunktsbegreppet, parallell attack och fienden som ett system under den inledande fasen av konflikten. Därför kan det inte sägas att koalitionen agerade enligt Wardens teori under konflikten.

Se servant des jeunes vétérans de l’infanterie des Forces armées canadiennes ayant vécu un déploiement en Afghanistan comme observatoire permettant la compréhension de l’articulation entre la prise de risque et la construction identitaire, notre étude explore les significations que ces jeunes accordent à leur expérience avant, pendant et après leur service militaire. Tout en prenant en considération les facteurs structuraux attachés à leur expérience (la trajectoire familiale, la trajectoire scolaire, la trajectoire professionnelle et la trajectoire personnelle), notre thèse met l’emphase sur le sens que prend la prise de risque, et ce, tout particulièrement en lien avec la construction identitaire. Guidée par les œuvres théoriques de David Le Breton portant sur la « passion du risque » et sur le travail de Stephen Lyng sur les « activités limitrophes », nous nous intéressons à la construction identitaire des jeunes vétérans dans un rapport dynamique entre l’expérience vécue et la prise de risque encourue dans un contexte sociétal aux caractéristiques particulières, soit celui de la modernité avancée. Si la plupart des travaux de la sociologie militaire portent essentiellement sur des études quantitatives portant sur les différents aspects de l’expérience des militaires, celles-ci peinent à mettre de l’avant une analyse théorique exhaustive du sens de la prise de risque présente dans leur parcours de vie et ceci du recrutement jusqu’à la démobilisation. Pour sa part, la sociologie du risque est surtout dominée par des études qualitatives qui prennent comme objet le phénomène de la prise de risque, surtout chez les jeunes. Malheureusement, celles-ci négligent considérablement l’étude des métiers où la prise de risque, pouvant entraîner la mort ou de graves blessures physiques et psychologiques, est présente de façon continue. C’est à la lumière de ce constat que cette étude propose de poursuivre le débat en établissant le pont entre ces deux domaines de la sociologie. En amalgamant les théories de la prise de risque personnelle émanant de la sociologie du risque à la sociologie militaire traditionnelle, nous tenterons de dépasser les limites des lectures réductionnistes de l’expérience des jeunes vétérans de l’Infanterie canadienne ayant vécu un déploiement en Afghanistan. S’inscrivant dans le cadre de la méthodologie qualitative et s’inspirant de l’approche dite des parcours de vie, des entrevues individuelles semi-dirigées ont été réalisées auprès de vingt-quatre jeunes vétérans de l’infanterie des Forces armées canadiennes. Âgés de moins de trente ans (moyenne =27), ces jeunes vétérans ont tous vécu un déploiement en Afghanistan entre 2006 et 2011. Les thèmes ressortant des témoignages de ces jeunes, analysés selon le processus de la théorie ancrée, nous ont permis de circonscrire nos trois grands objectifs de recherche: définir les principales trajectoires (familiale, scolaire, professionnelle et personnelle) vécues par les jeunes avant de se joindre à l’Infanterie canadienne et au moment précis où ils choisissent cette profession; définir l’expérience des jeunes fantassins une fois dans l’Infanterie canadienne; définir l'expérience des jeunes vétérans une fois démobilisés.

This is a submission for a PhD by portfolio on the subject of managing health services support to military operations. It is based upon my prior published work supported by an ‘action research’ analysis of the application of this prior knowledge to my experiences from spending a year in the South of Afghanistan from October 2009 to November 2010. The submission is structured around three thematic areas; medical planning to support military operations, management of military medical operations and international military medical engagement with indigenous health sectors. The submission presents evidence for my contribution to original thinking in each of these thematic areas by means of a review of my published work, my application of these concepts in support of NATO operations in Afghanistan and evidence of the impact of these concepts in influencing other military organisations. The first theme area on medical planning to support military operations will be supported by 3 monographs. These will describe the context of medical support to military operations in the current security environment, the use of the ‘estimate’ process to develop a medical plan and the analytical process termed ‘the casualty estimate’. The second theme covers the management of military medical operations. This is the largest section and contains monographs on pre-hospital helicopter medical evacuation, aeromedical evacuation movement between hospitals, managing casualty flows, deployed hospital care, and quality assurance of the medical system. The final theme covers international military medical engagement with medical support systems for indigenous security forces and indigenous civilian health systems. The closing section of this submission reflects on my two tours in Afghanistan comparing my recent experiences with my views at the end of my first tour in 2006/07. My whole thesis provides evidence of my considerable personal learning from my experiences managing medical support to military operations. This section will highlight how I have tried to share this experience both personally and across multiple stakeholder organisations to ensure my observations can be converted into lessons learned.

Within the framework of Critical Discourse Studies, this thesis looks at how Hazara peoples’ online activism during the Afghanistan 2009 and 2014 Presidential Elections contributed to promoting civil society and democratic values in Post-2001Afghanistan. The data corpus for this research is a selection of twelve published articles from the four most popular Hazara activists’ affiliated websites: The Republic of Silence, Hazara People International Network, Kabul Press and Hazara Net. Hazara writers applied a critical, but divisive and ethnocentric language to construct a political discourse during the Afghan national elections and polarized Afghan ethnic groups and differentiated between people and politicians. Despite the divisive and polarized discourse strategies in their texts, Hazara writers opened a fresh space for ethnic conversation in the Afghan online public sphere during the elections and enriched Afghan mainstream media discourse. The data corpus unveiled political activism based on historical consciousness, collective adaptability to social changes, and a continuous interest in education and civic activism as main Hazara online themes in post-2001 Afghanistan. These Hazara texts promote one role in particular for Hazaras, and that is to protest yesterday’s oppressive history, correct today's political structures and transform tomorrow's political culture in Afghanistan, so that all activists share something more than race, blood and ethnicity.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) that causes AIDS, ?acquired immunodeficiency syndrome? is one of the world?s most serious health and development challenges. Afghanistan faces many challenges such as instability around the country, low literacy levels, high levels of opium production, and a lack of basic infrastructure. The first Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) case was reported in Afghanistan in 1989. Studies on HIV transmission in Afghanistan characterize an epidemic which centers largely around three behaviors such as share dneedles and syringes, unprotected sex with sex workers, and unprotected sex between males. The main aim of my thesis was monitoring the problem of HIV/AIDS in Afghanistan, other accompany in gaims were to describe the current status of HIV/AIDS in Afghanistan, Mapping the knowledge of workers in hairdressers - barbers in center and the region of Kabul, mapping HIV/AIDS knowledge of local physicians in the center and in the region of Kabul.

abstract: The American-led 'war on terror' affected how media outlets and some contemporary literature addressed and stereotyped Islam. One of the most common stereotypes regarded the status of women in society. The constant images of oppressed Afghani women generated a wave of negativity toward Islam. Afghani women were portrayed as passive characters during the Taliban rule awaiting liberation from the west. Defending their rights became one of the moral justifications for waging the 'war on terror' after the tragedy of 9/11. Gender politics in Afghanistan is closely tied to the regime in power. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and the social and cultural transformation of society that followed also directly affected women and their identity as Muslims. Both the Soviet and the Taliban regimes envisioned a drastic transformation of women's participation in the public sphere. Each regime's gender politics oppressed Afghani women and sought to take away their agency. Some women welcomed the freedom under the Soviets, but others found the freedoms to be oppressive. The Taliban aimed to preserve men's authority over women. However, Afghani women never gave up the hope of freedom and equality. My main argument is to challenge the contemporary belief that Afghani women were passive characters in their history. This study introduces a fresh perspective on to women's role as change makers in the society. I argue that Afghani women maintained their autonomy and fought for their rights, before the rest of the world rushed to liberate them. They engaged in different forms of resistance from directly attacking the oppressors to keeping their resistance hidden. This thesis challenges the notion of Afghani women as victims in need of saving. On the contrary, they were the agents of change in their communities. On the basis of ethnographic interviews and three memoirs written by women who lived in Afghanistan during Soviet and Taliban rule. Their resistance against the oppressors is an affirmation of their courage and bravery. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Religious Studies 2017

Counterinsurgency is still believed to be of relevance in modern time and affect military organizations. Kilcullen and Galula, two theorists who have been of high relevance for the development of strategies for population-centric counterinsurgency used in the modern era. In 2010, Operation Moshtarak was conducted with Field Manual 3-24, which is based on these theorists. Despite this, there is a discrepancy if the operation was conducted with a population-centric counterinsurgency and if Kilcullen and Galula theories can be applied in a modern era. The purpose of this study is to examine why operation Moshtarak, which was supposed to implement the aspects of population centric counterinsurgency resulted in failure. The study uses a qualitative case study and even though the theories didn’t reach the expected elucidatory level, the results of the study indicate that the initial steps of the operation demonstrate that population-centric counterinsurgency were used, but after the initial successes in the expulsion of insurgents, problems arised for the coalition. The study also indicates that more research is necessary to understand the outcome of the case and the relevance of these theories.

abstract: Globally, more than 350 000 women die annually from complications during pregnancy and childbirth (UNFPA, 2011). Nearly 99% of these, according to World Health Organization (WHO) trends (2010) occur in the developing world outside of a hospital setting with limited resources including emergency care (WHO, 2012; UNFPA, 2011). The most prevalent cause of death is postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), accounting for 25% of deaths according to WHO statistics (2012). Conditions in Afghanistan are reflective of the scope and magnitude of the problem. In Afghanistan, maternal mortality is thought to be among the highest in the world. The Afghan Mortality Survey (AMS) data implies that one Afghan woman dies about every 2 hours from pregnancy-related causes (AMS, 2010). Lack of empowerment, education and access to health care resources increase a woman's risk of dying during pregnancy (AMS, 2010). This project aims to investigate the prospects of scaling-up the correct use of misoprostol, a prostaglandin E1 analogue, to treat PPH in developing countries where skilled assistance and resources are scant. As there has been little published on the lessons learned from programs already in place, this study is experience-driven, based on the knowledge of industry experts. This study employs a concurrent triangulation approach to synthesize quantitative data obtained from previous studies with qualitative information gathered through the testimonies of key personnel who participated in pilot programs involving misoprostol. There are many obstacles to scaling-up training initiatives in Afghanistan and other low-resource areas. The analysis concludes that the most crucial factors for scaling-up community-based programs include: more studies analyzing lessons learns from community driven approaches; stronger partnerships with community health care workers; overcoming barriers like association with abortion, misuse and product issues; and a heightened global and community awareness of the severity of PPH without treatment. These results have implications for those who actively work in Afghanistan to promote maternal health and other countries that may use Afghanistan's work as a blueprint for reducing maternal mortality through community-based approaches. Keywords: Afghanistan, community-based interventions, community-driven, maternal mortality, MDG5, misoprostol, postpartum hemorrhage, reproduction, scale-up / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S.Tech Technology 2013