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A Case Study of District Swat - Pakistan

发布时间:2017-06-03
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  1. Local Governance in Post Conflict Situation at District Swat: Challenges for Services Delivery and Decision Making Capacities
  2. Local Governance in Post Conflict Situation: Challenges for Services Delivery and Decision Making Capacities

(A Case Study of District Swat)

Pakistan has been facing a complex security environment along its Western borders since the War on Terror (2001). The volatile situation has emerged from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) along the border with Afghanistan and the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, (Pakistan) have left the whole KPK region vulnerable to terrorist attacks as well as protracted armed conflict. So, there has been a wave of Talibanization in FATA and PATA and particularly in district Swat which has often ended up in military operations to flush out the miscreants. Over time, the wave of Talibanization has taken grip in Swat area and trend reached its climax in 2009 when the Taliban inspired and allied, Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) took over the Swat Valley. They banished all government functionaries’ institutions and de-functional situation appeared. The military operation, Operation Rah-e-Raast have flushed out the militants and liberated the Swat area.

In general, the growing trend of Talibanization coupled with religious extremism and overflow of the Afghan War was to blame for the Swat occupation and it happened because of the weak response of the local administration and the Provincial Government who failed to understand the nature of conflict. The mainstream causes to fuel the situation were poverty of the writ of the government, lack of communication of the government institutions, economic backwardness, illiteracy, poor law and order and judicial vacuum given the space to violent organizations such as TNSM and Taliban who exploited ground situation and ultimately converted peaceful Swat area into an armed conflict zone. In addition, the trend of Talibanization combined with religious extremism, overflow of the Afghan War and War on Terror was to blame for the Swat Conflict and that the weak early response by the federal and provincial institutions helped to prolong the conflict. Historically, since the formation of state of Swat, it was a peaceful area where the Wali ruled without any resistance. This was primarily due to the fact that the state of Swat was formed based on a consensus of the Jirga. This allowed the Wali to spend time focusing on developing the state economically and socially. Priority was given to roads, schools and hospitals. Free education and health services were provided to all living citizens. It was welfare state under the patronage of the British Raj or even after the independence of Pakistan (1947). Swat continued to function as an independent state till 1969. Swat State was internally independent which had its own laws, its own justice, army, police and administration, budget and taxes, and even its own flag. So, the principality was dependent upon British Imperial Order and later Pakistan for currency, defence, foreign affairs and electricity.

Thus, the violent organizations engaged the Swat area in an armed conflict and created heinous violence to impose their brand of Islam on the people. They have introduced an alternate governance system in the area and enforce their brutal rules. They publically executed women, chopped kids and youngest, destroy infrastructure, killed local municipal leadership and local mullahs and blew up the whole area. So, it is apparent that bad governance played a large role not only in the conflict but in the very creation of the TNSM and other violent organizations. There were also severe flawed in public policy at the local level, and governance issues only helped make matters worse. Even technical and bureaucratic decisions like the political and administrative status of Swat had a direct impact on creation of this conflict.

There is no doubt that extremism can be an integral part of the dynamics of conflicts and their resolution. Swat insurgency has been particularly intense in the case of conflict and post-conflict societies. The military operation badly inflicts boundless individual suffering and also damaged economic, social and human developments. The day operation has completed for permanent peace and stability, it has been evaluated that the population faces the massive task of rebuilding and reconstructions. In the case of Swat it has observe that the state’s authority has collapsed completely and the local administration and government lost its legitimacy because it has failed to provide peace and security to people. Thus, the post-conflict phase is the period of precarious and chaotic transition rather than the more ordered progress previously envisioned of the development programs. In the circumstance, good governance plays a key role in rebuilding in the post-conflict areas. For this purpose, human and institutional resources needed in that reconstruction have often fallen victim to the previous violence. It is necessary because Swat is in transition phase and requires administrative assistance and socio-economic cooperation from the federal government and the international community. The task is thus to build transparent, efficient and participative governance structures that can help to stabilize the volatile transformation of post-conflict society. Furthermore, local governance is a vital tool to guarantee peace, boost economic development, maximize administrative efficiency, and ensure social inclusion and environmental sustainability. In general, local governance are increasingly considered to have a key role in responding to the socio‐economic needs of affected populations in both the immediate post‐conflict humanitarian early recovery phase and in the long term, as part of the consolidation of peace and state‐building. In this regard, local governments are viewed as pivotal in bringing formal state institutions into direct contact with their citizens and thus play a crucial role in establishing inclusive patterns of post‐conflict governance, responsively providing services delivery and decision making to divided populations and consolidating resilient law and order.

Moreover, district Swat emerging from violent conflict require the support from all concerned quarters for socio-economic development and administrative reforms in order to face the vast challenges of reconstructing, physical infrastructure and, most of all, of recreating institutions according to the need of post-conflict society. Although institution-building issues in post-conflict situations have received increased attention in the last few years, there is no comprehensive set of political guidelines for the promotion of good governance in fragile environments. This task will have to be undertaking by the federal and provincial government to enhance transparency and harmonization of approaches. As a step, the concerned bodies outline crucial issues for the promotion of good governance in post-conflict societies, identifying the most important actors and sketching relevant starting points and possibilities of sequencing measures. However, the new political and administrative reforms that satisfy the principles of good governance can prevent outbreaks of new violence by providing more peaceful procedures of conflict resolution. This research will help to elaborate the basic core problems and the rules of engagement to enhance the capacity of institutions and service delivery to the people. The research will focus fundamentally on strategy, basing its analysis on the security, political-administrative and socio-economic dimensions of governance, which play varying roles in the different stages of reconstruction. It also offers some recommendations for the operational level. Since the promotion of good governance in post-conflict societies requires difficult decisions and prioritizations, which desire contributed valuable insights from the perspective of development policy. Nevertheless, the area of Swat belongs to violent conflict and need to make critical choices between the often momentous task of responding to the aspirations of local people and the need to quickly reconstitute a semblance of government at local and federal levels; between rapid economic development and longer‐term peace consolidation and sustained development, and hence, the importance of addressing the root causes of conflicts.

In addition to post-conflict situation local government has a role in the reducing of conflict and “the strengthening of good governance through adequate representation, participation and recognition of all identity (minority) groups at the local level can be seen as an important entry point for the resolution of ethnic tensions, and this in turn will also support the national political process of reconciliation. Furthermore, the lessons learnt at the local level can provide important answers to the question as to how to restructure the national political system so that it is suitable to accommodate all identity groups”. It is said that “at the local level, much greater constructive potential survives conflicts and other complex emergencies than we had expected or than we found at higher levels in most political systems”. Therefore local government has a vital role in post conflict reconstruction, services deliveries and decision making.

The present study Local Governance in Post-Conflict Situation at Swat District: Challenges for Services Delivery and Decision Making Capacities will be an appropriately effort to identify challenges in the way of local government in providing services delivery and decision making at local level in the post conflict situations of District Swat.

Justification of the Study:

The research will provide an overview of the district Swat which in the recent past severely affected by the War on Terror (Conflict situation) and society experience serious challenges associated with local governance, decentralization of policies and the strengthening of local governments within contexts of peace building, area building and post conflict recovery in the recent past. It underlines that harnessing the potential of local governance in sensitive and volatile peace building processes requires addressing a series of significant challenges and in particular recognizing the dynamics of each conflict along with the concomitant power struggles involved. Failure to do this adequately has led to mixed results. The research will attempt to provide historical and analytical grounding to this hypothesis by providing historical background to the Swat Conflict as well as presenting the findings of an extensive field research conducted in the district Swat. In addition, local governance can give voice to the local population, and enhance their participation in the reconstruction and peace building efforts and thus alleviate tensions based on social exclusion, polarization and regional disparities that are often at the origin of conflicts. It is also an essential means for increasing national capacities and ownership to lead recovery efforts across all the key phases, from the identification of needs, to planning, programming, implementation and monitoring. Therefore, good local governance is not just about providing a range of local services but also about preserving the life and liberty of residents, creating space for democratic participation and civic dialogue, supporting market-led and environmentally sustainable local development, and facilitating outcomes that enrich the quality of life of residents.

Aims and Objectives of the Study

The overall objective of the study is to find out the role of local government in the provision of services delivery and decision making at local level in post conflict society of district Swat.

The specific objectives of the study are:

1.To asses the role/ functions/performance of local government in service delivery, and decision making in post conflict society of Swat;

2.To identify challenges faced by local government in post conflict society of Swat in delivery of services and local decision making;

3.To find out the role of local government to establish state outreach and control in remote areas especially in post conflict situations;

4.To find out the views of the people, and experiences with, service delivery, decision making and local governance;

5.To suggest possible measures to improve service delivery, decision making and local governance.

Research Questions

This study will answer the following questions.

1.What are the role/ functions/performance of local government in improving in service delivery, and decision making in post conflict society of Swat?

2.What are the challenges faced by local government in post conflict society of Swat in delivery of services and local decision making?

3.How the state establishes its outreach and control in remote areas through local government especially in post conflict societies?

4.What are the views of the people about local government, and their experiences with, service delivery, decision making at their local level?

Methodology

The methodology of this study will be historical, descriptive, empirical (qualitative & quantitative) and analytical in nature. The study will be historical & descriptive in terms of the historical appraisal of existing local government and administrative structure of Swat. It will be empirical in the sense that both qualitative and quantitative data will be collected through interviews and questionnaires. The opinion of the people of Swat and important stakeholders about local government system, etc. local administrators, and people working in local municipality will be collected through different data collection methods mentioned below. The study will be analytical as it will analyze the views of different stakeholders, common people, and different experts. Primary data will be collected through structured questionnaires from a sample of 364 people (calculated through a statistical formula) will be randomly selected for this research study.

Research Methodology:

This paper through the help of a field survey and key personnel interviews will be presented to strengthen evidence that backs this hypothesis. In order to make the case for this hypothesis, the historical background will be presented as well to signify the change in situation since the annexation of the region. Moreover, field research will be conduct in the Swat district to substantiate the hypothesis using findings based on the primary data collected.

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