This study compares how girls that are disguised as boys are portrayed in both fiction and reality. The analysis explores Maria Gripe's Shadow-tetralogy set in 1911-1914 and Jenny Nordberg's reportage book The Underground Girls of Kabul between 2011-2014. The study applies a feminist and queer theoretical perspective. Drawing on Judith Butler's concept of performativity, the analysis explores how gender is not a biological or natural characteristic but rather a social construction that is maintained through repeated actions and behaviors. Literature has used the motif of disguise to alienate gender, highlight structural imbalances and expose gender stereotypes. It has been a way to present strong, complex and active girl characters. In recent years, the genre of fantasy in particular has a similar function. However, in today's Afghanistan, the bacha posh is a survival strategy that gives unprivileged women an opportunity to gain access to education and freedom for a limited time. The results of the analysis indicate how in both fiction and reality, disguising as a boy is an opportunity for girls to live a freer life for a time, albeit for a limited period of time.

This research paper investigates the current turmoil in Pakistan and how much of it has been caused by the joint American-Pakistani War on Terror. The United States' portion of the War on Terror is in Afghanistan against the Al-Qaeda and Taliban forces that began after the September 11th attacks in 2001, as well as in Pakistan with unmanned drone attacks. Pakistan's portion of this war includes the support to the U.S. in Afghanistan and military campaigns within it's own borders against Taliban forces. Taliban forces have fought back against Pakistan with terrorist attacks and bombings that continue to ravage the nation. There have been a number of consequences from this war upon Pakistani society, one of particular importance to the U.S. is the increased anti-American sentiment. The war has also resulted in weak and widely unpopular leaders. The final major consequence this study examines is the increased conflict amongst the many ethnicities within Pakistan. The consequences of this war have had an effect on local, regional, American, and international politics.

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The emergence and importance of human rights are rarely discussed without the discussion in some way also touching on the impact that various popular movements or social resistance have had on the manifestation of rights claims. This thesis focus in particular on the development in recent times in Afghanistan since the Taliban's takeover of power in August 2021. For the women and girls in Afghanistan the Taliban’s new power meant a return from 20 years of developed opportunities and recognized human rights, which can be directly derived to the rights and non-discrimination of women declared in the UN Women's Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). This thesis will primarily deal with Amnesty International's report Death in Slow Motion: Women and girls under Taliban rule, which consists of a 100-page report, including testimonies, that describes the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan one year after the Taliban took gained power in August 2021. The analytical discussion of this thesis is based on a critical theoretical framework built on the concepts of performative practice, weapons of the weak, translation and ontological disturbance. The operationalization of the theoretical framework of this thesis is done with the help of a critical discourse analysis (CDA). The analytical discussion and conclusions of this thesis establish that Afghan women's and girls' current, every day or small-scale acts of resistance in order to assert their rights, demands for belonging, equality and freedom take varying forms and that these approaches move dynamically between the public and private spheres of society. In many ways, the resistance takes place beyond the Taliban's supervision and despite the risks that the acts of resistance entail, the actions of the Afghan women and girls contribute to manifesting and strengthening their rights claims and highlighting their capacity for agency and freedom of action. This thesis mainly highlights how these acts of resistance and agents can open up conditions for women and girls in Afghanistan to form communities and solidarity belonging within a social and political arena that has come to place them on the periphery.

Yes / This working paper deals with the nexus of diaspora communities living in European host countries, specifically in Germany, and the transformation of protracted violent conflicts in a number of home countries, including Sri Lanka, Cyprus, Somalia and Afghanistan. Firstly, the political and social role and importance of diaspora communities vis-à-vis their home and host countries is discussed, given the fact that the majority of immigrants to Germany, as well as to many other European countries, over the last ten years have come from countries with protracted civil wars and have thus had to apply for refugee or asylum status. One guiding question, then, is to what extent these groups can contribute politically and economically to supporting conflict transformation in their countries of origin. Secondly, the role and potentials of diaspora communities originating from countries with protracted violent conflicts for fostering conflict transformation activities are outlined. Thirdly, the current conflict situation in Sri Lanka is analyzed and a detailed overview of the structures and key organizations of the Tamil and Sinhalese diaspora worldwide is given. The structural potentials and levels for constructive intervention for working on conflict in Sri Lanka through the diasporas are then described. Fourthly, the socio-political roles of diaspora communities originating from Cyprus, Palestine, Somalia and Afghanistan for peacebuilding and rehabilitation in their home countries are discussed. The article finishes by drawing two conclusions. Firstly, it recommends the further development of domestic migration policies in Europe in light of current global challenges. Secondly, it points out that changes in foreign and development policies are crucial to make better use of the immense potential of diaspora communities for conflict transformation initiatives and development activities in their home countries. How this can best be achieved in practice should be clarified further through intensified action research and the launch of more pilot projects.

This thesis investigates global fight against terrorism in North West Pakistan and Afghanistan from a 21st century perspective in 2018. It focuses on local attitudes towards the War on Terror and their interplay with geo-strategic, regional, international and Pakistan’s domestic landscapes. In doing so, it questions the efficacy of existing academic and policy approaches towards achieving sustainable peace in North West Pakistan in particular and South Asia in general. It also evaluates the impact of regional rivalries especially in between Pakistan and India on the achievement of US foreign policy interests. Part-1 reviews existing literature on terrorism especially in post 9/11 setting. It examines the international discord of agreeing on a single definition of terrorism and its ramifications. It sequentially focuses on character of security in North West Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan since colonial times. It also identifies various traditional, religious and societal angles of Pashtun tribes; which always inspired them to fight against external powers. Part-2 combines academic investigations with empirical evidence. The results are correlated with current discussions on modern terrorism, geopolitical pulls and regional rivalries to create a holistic picture. It identifies local attitudes and regional rivalries as major impediments towards achievement of sustainable peace. Research findings indicated that predominant Western academic debates on the conflict were foreign policy inspired with little local and veteran input. By adapting a pragmatic approach the terrorism challenge can be addressed and the region can contribute towards the continuation of ‘Rules Based Order’ within the current phase of Great Power Rivalry.

Evaluation des mutations de la stratégie politico-militaire américaine depuis l'occurrence de la Revolution in Military Affairs jusqu'au processus actuel de "Transformation". L'analyse des évolutions vues - y compris à l'aune des opérations menées en Afghanistan et en Irak - montre, au delà du phénomène de technicisation (i.e. le processus d'intégration de nouvelles technologies aux armées) un phénomène de "technologisation". <p><p>Dans ce cadre, le discours stratégique américain, examiné au travers des débats stratégiques et des contributions doctrinales, tendrait à être sur-déterminé par la technologie, du niveau tactique au niveau politique, de sorte que ledit discours tendrait à devenir en soi une technologie. / Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished