The paradox of peacebuilding: Peril, promise, and small arms in Tajikistan

Central Asian Survey

Volumn 24, Issue 1, 2005, Pages 21-38

  Heathershaw, John ^a  

^a LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ARMS TRADE; GEOPOLITICS; PEACE PROCESS; SECURITY THREAT;

ASIA; EASTERN HEMISPHERE; EURASIA; TAJIKISTAN; WEST ASIA; WORLD;

EID: 18144392431     PISSN: 02634937     EISSN: None     Source Type: Trade Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/13648470500049958     Document Type: Article

References (88)

1. Olivier A. J. Brennikmeijer,'International concern for Tajikistan', in Mohammad-Reza Djalili, Frederic Grare and Shirin Akiner, Tajikistan: The Trials of Independence (Richmond, Surrey: Curzon, 1999), p 181.
2. Rahmonov and many of his clique are from the Kulyob region of Tajikistan. See Shirin Akiner, Tajikistan: Disintegration or Reconciliation? (London: RIIA, 2001), p 64.
3. RFE/RL, 'Tajik referendum approves constitutional changes', 23 June 2003, http://www.eurasianet.org/resource/tajikistan/hypermail/200306/ 0032.shtml. (Accessed 14 October 2004)
4. See John Heathershaw, Emil Juraev, Michael von Tangen-Page and Lada Zimina, 'Small arms in Central Asia', Eurasia Studies Series (International Alert, 2004). Available at http:// www.international-alert.org/pdf/pubsec/MISAC_eurasia_4.pdf.
5. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, An Agenda for Peace (New York: UN, 1992).
6. Ibid, p 1.
7. Ibid, p 11.
8. Michael Lund, 'What kind of peace is being built? Taking stock of post-conflict peacebuilding and charting future directions', a paper for the International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada (January 2003). Available at www.action.web.ca, p 13. (Accessed 3 November 2004)
9. Cited in Nicole Ball, 'The reconstruction of war-torn societies and state institutions: how can external actors contribute?', in Tobias Debiel, ed, with Alex Klein, Fragile Peace: State Failure, Violence and Development in Crisis Regions (London: Zed, 2002), p 35.
10. Roland Paris, 'Peacebuilding and the limits of liberal internationalism', International Security, Vol 22, No 2, 1997, pp 54-89.
11. Peacebuilding's ideological basis has been characterised as '(Wilsonian) liberal nationalist', 'neoliberal' or simply 'liberal'. This article will continue to use 'neoliberal' to denote the idea that liberal political and economic systems can be developed in a society, which may lack many of the traditionally understood, prerequisites for democracy at the initiative of international actors.
12. Eva Bertram, 'Reinventing Governments: the promises and perils of United Nations peace building', Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol 39, No 3, 1995, p 388.
13. The concept of peacebuilding's influence on analysis of Tajikistan extends beyond approaches which selfconsciously advocate peacebuilding to reach a wider range of literature which seeks to understand the country in its 'post-conflict' status.
14. Open Society Institute, 'Tajikistan: refugee reintegration and conflict prevention', Forced Migration Project, available at www.soros.org, accessed 19 November 2001.
15. Dov Lynch, 'The Tajik civil war and peace process', Civil Wars, Vol 4, No 4, Winter 2001, p 69.
16. John Schoeberlein, 'Regional introduction: a host of preventable conflicts', in Paul van Tongeren, Hans van de Veen and Juliette Verhoeven, eds, Searching for Peace in Europe and Eurasia: An Overview of Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding Activities (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2002), pp 476-477.
17. International Crisis Group, 'Tajikistan's politics: confrontation or consolidation?', Asia Briefing, 19 May 2004, p 19.
18. Muriel Atkin, 'Islam as faith, politics and bogeyman', in Michael Bourdeaux, ed, The Politics of Religion in Russia and the New States of Eurasia (London: Sharpe, 1995), p 247.
19. Olivier Roy, 'Is the conflict in Tajikistan a model for conflicts throughout Central Asia?', in Mohammad Reza Djalili, Frederic Grare and Shirin Akiner, eds, Tajikistan: The Trials of Independence (Richmond, UK: Curzon, 1998), p 143.
20. Atkin, op cit, Ref 18, p 254.
21. Ahmed Rashid, Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2002), pp 106-114.
22. Dilip Hiro, Between Marx and Mohammed (London: Harper Collins, 1994), pp 203, 217.
23. Alexei Vasiliev, ed, Central Asia: Political and Economic Challenges in the Post-Soviet Era (London: Saqi, 2001), p 18.
24. Olivier Roy, The New Central Asia: The Creation of Nations (London: I.B. Tauris, 2000), pp 161-165.
25. Algis Prazaukas, 'Ethno-political issues and the emergence of nation-states in Central Asia', in Yongjin Zhang and Rouben Azizian, eds, Ethnic Challenges Beyond Borders: Chinese and Russian Perspectives of the Central Asian Conundrum (Basingstoke: St. Martin's Press, 1997), p 62.
26. Evgeniy Abdullaev, 'The Central Asian Nexus: Islam and Politics', in Boris Rumer, Central Asia: A Gathering Storm? (New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2002), p 273.
27. Boris Rumer, Central Asia: A Gathering Storm? (New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2002), pp 4, 28.
28. Olivier Roy,The New Central Asia: The Creation of Nations (London: I.B. Tauris, 2000), pp 161-165 op cit, Ref 24.
29. S. Neil Macfarlane and Stina Torjesen, 'Distortions in the discourse of danger: the case of small arms proliferation in Kyrgyzstan', Central Asian Survey, Vol 24, No 1, 2005, pp 00-00 (this issue).
30. Madeleine Reeves, 'Locating danger: konfliktologiia and the search for fixity in the Ferghana valley borderlands', Central Asian Survey, Vol 24, No 1, 2005, pp 00-00 (this issue).
31. Will Myer, Islam and Colonialism: Western Perspectives on Soviet Asia (London: Routledge, 2002), pp 5, 240.
32. Edward Said, Culture and Imperialism (London: Vintage, 1994).
33. Interview, Ricardo Lepri, OSCE, Dushnabe, 10 June 2003.
34. UN Security Council, Press Release SC/6860 4141st Meeting (Night), 12 May 2000. Available at http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2000/ 20000512.sc6860.doc.html, accessed 22 May 2004.
35. 'Tajikistan: Interview with UN Secretary-General's representative', 27 November 2002, (IRIN), available at www.irinnews.org, accessed 22 May 2004.
36. It should be noted that on some areas, such as suppression of the media and electoral law, Hoagland has been critical of the government. See, 'US envoy calls for changes to Tajik laws on election, media', Asia-Plus News Agency, Dushanbe, in Russian, 0830 GMT, 3 March 2004, http:// www.eurasianet.org/resource/tajikistan/hypermail/news/0021.shtml. (Accessed 8 May 2004)
37. Anara Tabyshalieva, 'Policy recommendations: some strategies for stability, in Van Tongeren et al, op cit, Ref 16, p 482.
38. Shirin Akiner, Tajikistan: Disintegration or Reconciliation? (London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 2001), p 58.
39. Harold H. Saunders, 'The multilevel peace process in Tajikistan', unpublished paper, 1998, p 4.
40. Parviz Mullojonov, 'Civil society and peacebuilding', in Catherine Barnes and Kamoludin Abdullaev, eds, Conciliation Resources Accord: An International Review of Peace Initiative, No 10, (2001). (London: Conciliation)
41. Saodat Olimova and Anthony Bowyer, Political Parties in Tajikistan (Washington: International Foundation for Electoral Systems, November 2002), pp 3-4.
42. Schoeberlein, op cit, Ref 16, p 477.
43. Akiner, op cit, Ref 38, p 88.
44. Heathershaw et al, op cit, Ref 4.
45. Interview, Kathleen Samuels, International Crisis Group, Dushanbe, 10 June 2003.
46. Mullojonov, op cit, Ref 40;
47. Akiner, op cit, Ref 38, p 58.
48. Nasrin Dadmehr, 'Tajikistan: regionalism and weakness', in Robert I. Rotberg, ed, State Failure and State Weakness in a Time of Terror (Washington: Brookings Institute Press, 2003), p 254.
49. I b i d.
50. Ibid, pp 257, 259.
51. I b i d.
52. A commonly used technical definition of SALW can be found in the '1997 Report of the UN Panel of Governmental Experts on Small Arms', United Nations, A/52/298, 27 August 1997. Roughly speaking SALW are any weapons that can be carried by an individual, from hand guns to rocket-propelled grenade launchers.
53. Burkhard Conrad, 'The problem of small arms and light weapons in Tajikistan', Strategic Analysis: A Monthly Journal of the IDSA, Vol 24, No 8, November 2000, Available at http://www.ciaonet.org/olj/ sa/sa_nov00cob01.html. (Accessed 22 April 2003)
54. I b i d.
55. According to the Ministry of Interior, 9694 small arms were legally registered in 2003, but many more are thought to exist in practice. Interview, Lt. Col. Abdugaffor Galibov, Ministry of Interior, 11 June 2003.
56. Based on data received from the Committee for the Guarding of State Boarders [Komitet po Okhrane Gosudarstvennoy Granitsv] (KOGG) of drugs seizures made between 1993 and 2003;
57. Interview, Lt. Col. Abdugaffor Galibov, Ministry of Interior, 11 June 2003.
58. I b i d.
59. For example, on 13 May 2003, a huge cache including almost 70,000 rounds of ammunition was found by Tajik border troops in the Qumsagir District on the Tajik-Afghan border. RFE/RL, 'Tajik border troops discover huge arms cache', 18 May 2003, Available at http://www.times.kg/news/ 1080661.html, accessed 22 May 2004.
60. Interview, Lt. Col. Abdugaffor Galibov, Ministry of Interior, 11 June 2003.
61. Conrad, op cit, Ref 52.
62. Interview, Kathleen Samuels, International Crisis Group, 9 June 2003.
63. Interview, Davlyatyor Jumakhanov, AKDN Mountain Societies Development and Support Programme, Dushanbe, 9 June 2003.
64. Mahmud Khudoyberdiev's incursion into the city of Khujond in November 1998.
65. 'OSCE Document on Small Arms and Light Weapons', 24 November 2000, FSC.DOC/1/00.
66. United Nations, 'Final Report of the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects', A/ CONF.192/15, (2001), Available at http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/ resources/2001_un_conf.htm. (Accessed 22 April 2003)
67. Interview, Alexandru Codreanu, OSCE, 10 June 2003.
68. United Nations, op cit, Ref 65, p 11.
69. Interview, Col. Saidullaev, KOGG, 10 June 2003.
70. Interview, Lt. Col. Abdugaffor Galibov, Ministry of Interior, 11 June 2003.
71. United Nations, op cit, Ref 65, pp 11-12.
72. Interview, international official, 11 June 2003.
73. In particular, the UN Programme of Action calls for the establishment of a national point-of-contact and national coordination agency with the purpose of eradicating the illicit trade in SALW. There is no national coordination on SALW equivalent to that on drugs trafficking. In this case the Drug Control Agency under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan coordinates the work of four different government organs as well as the Russian Border Guards. This institution reflects the highly centralised and personalised nature of Tajik politics, but has nevertheless been seen to make progress on drugs. Representatives of the Presidential Administration, working with the UNDP, have led the Tajik government's response to the 2003 Biannual Meeting of States to review the UN Programme of Action on small arms. This might provide a prototype for improved coordination in the future.
74. United Nations, op cit, Ref 65, p 12.
75. UNICEF officers report that the government perceived work on SALW a 'retrograde step'. It was not until a visit to Tajikistan by the UN Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs that the project was approved. Interview, Patrick Frouchet and Soudabeh Ahmadzadeh, UNICEF, 12 June 2003.
76. It was initially difficult to find a civil society partner for this project. The national Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan (RCST) cited that although they have a mandate to work on small arms they would need government direction and approval to become involved in such projects in Tajikistan. For this reason RCST initially declined to participate in the UNICEF project. However, the RCST's involvement in mine awareness projects to support de-mining efforts along the Tajik-Uzbek border, and its strong working relationships with government departments, suggest that it has the potential to work with government and international organisations on SALW issues. However, the RCST's involvement in Mine Awareness projects to support demining efforts along the Tajik-Uzbek border, and its strong working relationships with government departments, suggest that it has the potential to work with government and international organisations on SALW issues. Interview, Dr. Djura Inomzoda, President, Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan, 11 June 2003.
77. Interview with international official, Dushanbe, July 2004.
78. Interview with international official, Khujond, July 2004.
79. Reeves, op cit, ref 30.
80. The word 'mirostroenie' is more often used for peacebuilding.
81. Andreas Serrano Smith, 'CIS peacekeeping in Tajikistan', in John MacKinlay and Peter Cross, eds, Regional Peacekeepers, the Paradox of Russian Peacekeeping (New York: UN University Press, 2003), pp 164-165.
82. Roy, op cit, Ref 24, pp 94-96.
83. Rahmonov's and Nuri's meeting in northern Afghanistan in 1996 to negotiate a ceasefire and agree the conditions for a general agreement in the midst of the conflict between the Northern Alliance and the Taleban is the most obvious example. Akiner, op cit, Ref 38, p 51.
84. Daniel L. Byman, Keeping the Peace: Lasting Solutions to Ethnic Conflict (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002).
85. For example, Mercy Corps Tajikistan's community action groups (CAG) and the Mountain Society Development Support Program's Village Organizations (VO).
86. Byman, op cit, Ref 83, p 224.
87. Stephane A. Dudoignan, 'From ambivalence to ambiguity? Some paradigms of policy-making in Tajikistan', in CIMERA, Tajikistan at a Crossroad: The Politics of Decentralisation, 2004, pp 119-150, available at www.cimera.org, accessed 2 August 2004.
88. Akiner, op cit, Ref 38, p 51.