Political Science and Security Studies

EUNPACK Working Paper 1 Qayoom Suroush 2 1 This paper was prepared in the context of the EUNPACK project (A conflict-sensitive unpacking of the EU comprehensive approach to conflict and crises mechanism), funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 693337. Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressed are attributable only to the authors in a personal capacity and not to any institution with which they are associated, nor do they necessarily reflect the views or policy of the European Commission. For more information on EUNPACK project, see http://www.eunpack.eu/ 2 Qayoom Suroush has a BA in philosophy and sociology from Kabul University and an MA in Security and Politics in Central Asia from OSCE Academy. He has worked with multiple research organizations and currently works as a Research Officer at AREU.

This study explores the formation of privacy as a value for different stakeholders in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Building on fieldwork in the two states, the study represents one of the few attempts to map out the interpretations and practices of privacy in Central Asia. The rapid digitalization processes unfolding in these two countries, which have similar cultural and historical roots, provide an illustrative setting of how privacy can be scrutinized in dissimilar political contexts, how its value is defined by the policies of the past, and what the apparent and dormant risks for society are. 

Background: In this study, the effect of receiving a non-trivial cash grant and mentorship for business practice on individual earnings in Afghanistan was assessed.
Methods: This randomized control trial (RCT) included 2177 individuals (n=2177), with the age range of 18-35 years. The amount of cash grant (500 USD) was approximately equal to the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in the country.  By a process of lottery, eligible applicants were equally divided into the group that received the grant (treatment group) and the group that did not (control group).
Results: Almost two years after this study, the percentage of increased annual income to the size of this cash grant was approximately 173 % and 69 % for males and females, respectively. This result was much higher than the estimated percentage reported in previous literature assessing the effect of microfinance loans and cash grants in other countries.  The treatment group had 7% higher probability of having an officially registered business than the control group. The treatment group also increased labor supply and employed additional workers, compared to the control group. The male treatment group bought more capital equipment (e.g., trike and commercial carts) than the male control group, while the female treatment group bought more domestic animals.
Conclusion: A non-trivial cash grant has a strong positive effect on the earnings of the recipient of the cash grant in Afghanistan. If the state of increased income continues for the next few years, the sum of increased income will be more than the sum of the administration cost, the interest cost and the amount of cash grant given.  This implies that the project passes the standard criteria to determine the appropriateness of government program. Additionally, we did not find any economically and statistically significant positive effect of mentorship on income.

This paper looks at some of the factors which lend support to growing number of right-wing populist political parties in EU and probes into the programmes and activities of the Danish People’s Party (Dansk Folkeparti, DF) to find out if their programmes and activities are against democracy or a threat to EU integration

This paper examines how corruption undermines the efforts of counter insurgency in Afghanistan and looks at how corruptions provides a environment conducive to growing of organized crime especially drug trafficking which is a big source of finance for Taliban and other similar groups