'Good' state vs. 'bad' warlords? A critique of state-building strategies in Afghanistan

The current Afghan government, having weak social roots has been forced to rely on the support of ‘warlords’ to stay in power. But a high price had to be paid. Despite the predominant stress in much current analysis on the issue of regional warlordism, the limited reform achievements in the Kabul ministries and the enduring domination by the militias of some key ministries are potentially much more threatening to the reform and re-establishment of the Afghan state. Widespread corruption is preventing some key ministries from achieving the minimal effectiveness required. Even within Kabul, the focus of the international community has been misplaced. In particular, the pressure of donors on the Ministry of the Interior has been nowhere near as strong as that exerted over the Ministry of Finance. The international community also failed to support adequately the attempts by ‘civil society’ to change the corrupt practices of the state administration

The debate on warlordism: the importance of military legitimacy

Despite the careless use of the terms ' warlord' and ' warlordism' by the media, both have become increasingly popular among academics, even if some scholars object to their use. This paper draws on direct field experience as well as the ongoing debate. It aims, on the one hand, to reconcile the different perspectives - which are often not necessarily at odds with each other - and on the other hand, to propose a definition of 'warlordism' for the social sciences that is both closer to that used so far by historians and at the same time consistent with emerging evidence from the field

Afghan presidential elections: a mirror of self-deception

Judgement over the 20 August Afghan elections has varied widely among observers. The most critical has been the Free and Fair Election Foundation, which reported widespread fraud. The EU observers, by contrast, judged that the elections were ‘free and fair’ despite widespread violence. Most diplomats congratulated Afghanistan over a voter turnout estimated at 40-50%, which despite being well below the official 70% of 2004 is believed to be acceptable in the face of ‘widespread’ violence

Limiti della giurisdizione e divieto di non liquet. L’accesso dei diritti alla giustizia

The problem of protection of rights understood as sets of claims, freedom and authority, takes place on two levels, usually called "substantial", which identifies the various positions attributed to subjects of law and "procedural", which provides forms and tools to react against the injury of such positions before a judge and ask for the protection. A right is protected establishing its recognition or attribution in the law and so being able to access to justice. The problem of protection of rights is conditioned by the choices that the legislator operates on the levels mentioned above. This research work investigates if there are cases in which the judge may refrain from pronouncing judgment, or if such cases cannot be admitted. In order to answer this question it is possible to start from the analysis of the relationship between prohibition of non liquet, on the one hand, and the effects that this prohibition produces on the legal protection of rights, on the other. The prohibition of non liquet is historically considered as a logical consequence of the completeness of the legal system and, in this context, is seen as a tool of powerful guarantee against arbitrariness of judges and rights uncertainty. In the contemporary context, the picture appears to be significantly changed. Not only for the progressive awareness about the impossibility of a complete law system ab origine, but also for the metamorphosis of prohibition of non liquet in this context. If there isn't any specific law concerning a legal question, it's necessary to investigate Legal System to find a solution to the matter. The Italian Legal System has a not flexible Constitution, where art. 24, 1° comma, together with art. 12 of the introductory provisions to the Italian Civil Code of 1942, do not allow the Court to refuse from deciding on a matter because of the silence or the obscurity of the law. As a result of an examination of some sensitive cases, recently occurred, the judges enhance as much as possible the access to justice even in the absence of a specific provision about a legal matter. The conclusion of the analysis highlights how the aim of prohibition of non liquet is different from the past. Born in a context where the utmost confidence was placed in the legislator and in the completeness of the Code, the prohibition of non liquet ensures the protection of rights when Codes don't give a specific provision. Thanks to this important evolution of prohibition of non liquet, nowadays it is possible both ask for a right to be protected and obtain an answer from a judge, also in absence of a specific provision. Certainty of Law depends on the work of judges and it means not only to be able to know in advance the consequences of a certain behavior, but also to be able to obtain legal protection for rights

Effect of mixing time and temperature on cracking resistance of bituminous mixtures containing reclaimed asphalt pavement material

The use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) in bituminous mixtures is considerably increasing due to the environmental and economic benefits of recycled materials. However, stiffer mixes, usually resulting from RAP addition, have raised concern about long-term properties of the pavement; a mechanical characterization of these mixes is thus needed. In this study, the effect of mixing condition on bituminous mixtures containing RAP was evaluated. Volumetric and mechanical properties were analyzed. An experimental program, with the aim of measuring stiffness modulus, water sensitivity, and cracking resistance, was conducted. Cracking resistance was evaluated according to the Fénix test because it has proved to be a convenient and effective method for characterizing cracking behavior of bituminous mixtures at different temperatures. Mixtures containing 20 or 40% of RAP material were tested; virgin aggregates and RAP mixing temperatures as well as mixing time were varied and comparisons with a reference mix were conducted to characterize fracture energy and mechanical performance.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Laboratory Assessment of the Infiltration Capacity Reduction in Clogged Porous Mixture Surfaces

Permeable pavements have been used widely across the world to manage urban stormwater. The hydrological behaviour of permeable surfaces is a complex process affected by many factors, such as rainfall intensity, rainfall duration, pavement geometrical conditions, and clogging level of the permeable surface, amongst others. This laboratory study was carried out to assess the influence of clogging level and rainfall intensity on the infiltration capacity of porous mixture surfaces used in Permeable Pavement Systems (PPS). Porous Concrete (PC) and Porous Asphalt (PA) mixtures with different air void contents (15%, 20%, and 25%) were subject to different clogging scenarios by using varying sediment loads (0, 500, and 1000 g/m2). Permeability experiments were carried out for each clogging scenario through a new rainfall simulator specially developed, tailored, and calibrated for the laboratory simulation of a wide range of rainfall events. Permeability measurements were taken under all different scenarios as a result of the combination of the different rainfall events (50, 100, and 150 mm/h) simulated over the specimens of porous mixtures and the sediment loads applied to them. The results showed that the PC mixtures tested perform better than the PA ones in terms of infiltration capacity, showing less potential for clogging and being more easily cleaned by the wash-off produced by the simulated rainfall events

Taliban Networks in Afghanistan

Dr. Antonio Giustozzi relies on his extensive experience as a researcher in Afghanistan to create an insightful analysis of a wide range of topics including assessments of the Taliban’s strengths and weaknesses, their ability to reassess and adapt, and their operational and strategic successes and failures. He has presented a balanced treatment of the subject matter; however, balance does not mean that the case study will be uncontroversial. In fact, Giustozzi’s analysis contains some rather blunt appraisals of many of the major actors in this conflict; including both ISAF and the Taliban.https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/ciwag-case-studies/1006/thumbnail.jp