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Abstract
Every multi-ethnic state faces ethnic competition and ethnic marginalisation, with minorities often facing varying degrees of discrimination, and power repression. The study adopts the theory of marginalisation and combines historical discourse analysis to examine the marginalisation experienced by Nubians in Egypt. The study finds that the marginalisation suffered by Nubians in Egypt is mainly reflected in the political denial of Nubians’ right to return and inadequate political elections, the economic lack of access to basic services and labour market challenges, as well as the education inequality, and that the state of marginalisation of the Nubian community is still ongoing. The study suggests that in the context of the Egyptian government’s continued neglect of Nubians’ rights and needs, Nubians should create pluralistic Nubian civil social organisations, increase the participation of the Nubian groups in Egyptian society, and create a vibrant public space for the Nubians to reduce the increasing marginalisation.
Abstract
Peak opium production was reached in 2017 when Afghanistan became the world-market leader in opium production in recent times. Historically only the British Empire had surpassed as China’s prime supplier prior to the mid-19th-century Opium Wars. Both situations belong to different historical periods. In colonial times the dominant superpower was engaged in major drug-dealings; nowadays a poor country such as Afghanistan has gained a dominant position in production but not in profit-making. Nearly half a century after Richard Nixon’s declaration of a ‘war on drugs’ Afghanistan and Myanmar are the prime suppliers of the world market. The spending of 611 billion US dollars on US-led military activities in Afghanistan since 9/11 has made Afghanistan the prime focus of actions to control the spread of drugs; more than two fifths of all United States’ spending for security issues was allocated in Afghanistan. Despite all these efforts Afghanistan has maintained its position as leading supplier of opiates to the end-user markets only after 9/11. Three questions are discussed in the article: How could Afghanistan emerge from oblivion to gain such a prime standing in cultivating and processing poppy (Papaver somniferum) and its derivates like morphine and heroin? How could illicit poppy cultivation become such a persistent and dominant cash crop in Afghanistan across all changes of governance and international relations? What factors allow expanding and sustaining the value chain of opiates from Asian to global markets?
Abstract
The Afghan poppy cultivation is presented here as a case in point to exemplify the linkages between external influences and local effects. World market and power relations have influenced cultivation patterns, processing, and trafficking. At the same time, poppy cultivation pinpoints an internal development which is strongly linked to deteriorating state control, warlordism, and regional power politics. Opium production has served as a major source of revenue for the upholding of disparate political structures which reflect the present political map of Afghanistan. Poppy cultivation in Afghanistan gained a substantial push during the last quarter century, from an annual production of 200 tons in 1979 to 4,200 tons in 2004, making use of former development efforts in creating irrigated oases in Helmand and Nangarhar. Prices rose after the Taliban’s 2001 ban on production, raising farmers’ incomes substantially and turning opium into an unrivalled cash crop. Fairly new production zones have been added in recent times; for example, Badakhshan – the stronghold of the Northern Alliance – has gained the third position with major increases in the last few years. Afghanistan’s poppy cultivation and opium production has to be interpreted in terms of globalization and fragmentation. Drug trafficking affects the neighboring states, namely, Iran, Tajikistan, and Pakistan, as they function as consumer markets as well as trade routes for contraband drugs heading towards the West. Consequently, the Afghan poppy cultivation is interpreted in a holistic manner.