Development Discourse and Womens Empowerment in Sindh

This research paper investigates and introduces the idea of development discourse and women empowerment question in Sindh. Based on the investigation and analysis of the writings by Sindhi intelligentsia in the Sindhi print media and book publications that present the discourse of development, progress, prosperity, and social change in Sindh, in this paper we engage with and call attention to the question of women empowerment. By integrating women empowerment and rights in this paper, we aim to set the research agenda and draw attention to gender and development theory and practice. In a way, this paper takes up and supports the gender-sensitive research approach to development discourse, public policy, and planning in Pakistan. It prioritizes gender and women's empowerment framework in research, teaching, and development practice.

Us Foreign Policy Towards Afghanistan in Post 9/11 Era: A Comparison of Bush and Obama Regimes 2001-2014

This dissertation has addressed a central question of what were the foreign policy doctrines of Bush and Obama and how did they manage to implement their foreign policy objectives in Afghanistan in the post 9/11 era. This all was intended to explore the patterns of continuity or change in the policies of Bush and Obama in Afghanistan. Both the administrations applied their own means and interests to attain its objectives somehow or the other. However, the neglect of Afghanistan and inconsistent and faulty policies had been the basic reasons that the U.S. could not achieve its objectives or to make an outright victory and the war still continued and is not yet completely lost. This dissertation also spelled out the other systemic and domestic factors due to which Afghanistan could not get the concerted attention, resources and unified policy actions. The closer analysis of the U.S. policy and Afghanistan’s situation revealed that despite differences in rhetoric and somewhat in actions the main U.S. approach towards Afghanistan had remained more or less the same and suffered from inconsistency and neglect regardless of the leader. Many observers characterized the U.S. attempts to control terrorism had rather worked to breed more terrorism in Afghanistan. Afghanistan had become the center stage of international politics where indigenous people did not have the power while the outsiders enjoyed the power to play politics over this geo-politically important state. Underlying assumptions of neoclassical realism (NCR), and Foreign Policy Decision-Making (FPDM) formed the basis of this study. Based on the findings of this dissertation and foregoing analysis it has been concluded that despite different rhetoric and talking a lot of change, the Obama administration had continued the Bush approaches at his policy level and his grand strategy had shown a great degree of continuity in case of Afghanistan.A great body of literature had proved this continuity particularly in his counterterrorism and national security policy. Though he introduced significant changes in his overall approach by using different means but those were meant to attain similar ends. Obama wanted to end the war but his generals did not let him do so. So, the continuity has proven to be more striking and rewarding than the changes he had proposed.