Shahmahmood Miakhel is the Country Director in Afghanistan for the US Institute of Peace (USIP). Prior to that he was a Governance Advisor for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), and, from 2003–2005, a Deputy Minister of the Interior in the Government of Afghanistan. In 1994–1995 he worked for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) in South and Southeast Afghanistan helping to establish District Rehabilitation Shuras (DRS). He also worked as a reporter for the Pashto service of the Voice of America from 1985–1990.
The Latest from Shahmahmood Miakhel
The Death of the Buddhas of Bamiyan
Originally posted December 2009
The 2001 destruction of the two giant Buddhas in Bamiyan is, by far, the most spectacular attack against the historical and cultural heritage of Afghanistan committed during the country’s recent period of turmoil.
Causes and Consequences of the Destabilization of Afghanistan
Originally posted December 2009
The Intellectual Impact of Colonialism and the Urgency of Decolonizing Knowledge of Afghanistan
Originally posted December 2009
Symmetrism
“I think one can say this almost without qualification,” writes Edward Said in Orientalism, as he reiterates some basic facts and moves toward a provisional conclusion (p. 204). Said had just explained that Orientalism is “a positive doctrine.” It is “an influential academic tradition,” as well as “an area of concern” (p. 203). As he implies here, and shows throughout his work, Orientalism is a great number of other things, too. It is the deployment of concepts regarded as always already universal such as race, religion, and fanaticism.
Infographic: Oil, Numbers, and Democracy
This infographic explains one facet of the argument posed in MEI Scholar Zubair Iqbal‘s recent article The Economic Determinants of Arab Democratization, posted March 13.
Click the image to enlarge
Post-Buffer Afghanistan: A Nation-State Here to Stay?
Originally posted December 2009
Nation-states, like their citizens, have life spans. Some are short. The bumptious Republic of Texas, for instance, lasted only nine years before being absorbed by a larger and even more energetic United States of America. Yugoslavia survived intact for two generations and then fragmented into six parts, seven including Kosovo.
The Practice of Development
The thirteen students in the class at the American University of Cairo were mid-career professionals working on graduate degrees in education. We had spent two hours discussing my book of case studies in education assistance when one student raised her hand: “Look, we intend to reform Egypt’s education system. Can you please just give us the steps we need to follow?”
U.S.-Iraq Relations After the Withdrawal
Panelists will explore both the challenges and opportunities presented by the transition of the U.S.-Iraqi partnership from a mainly military to a diplomatic one. What sort of working relationship is emerging between the U.S. and Iraqi governments? What kind of cooperation is taking place in the areas of domestic and regional security, diplomacy, trade, energy, and reform? How has the troop drawdown affected U.S. influence in Iraq and the region in general? Feltman, Istrabadi and Serwer will explore strategies and policies resulting from the new bilateral dynamics.
How Turkey and Iran See Each Other
This Opinion first appeared in Hurriyet on April 13, 2012
By Alex Vatanka and Soner Çağaptay
U.S.-Iraq Relations after the Withdrawal
Podcast forU.S.-Iraq Relations after the Withdrawal 13 April, 2012
U.S.-Iraq Relations after the Withdrawal
Podcast forU.S.-Iraq Relations after the Withdrawal 13 April, 2012
U.S.-Iraq Relations after the Withdrawal
Podcast forU.S.-Iraq Relations after the Withdrawal 13 April, 2012
U.S.-Iraq Relations after the Withdrawal
Podcast forU.S.-Iraq Relations after the Withdrawal 13 April, 2012
