Zahid Shahab Ahmed

Bio: Zahid Shahab Ahmed is an academic researcher from Deakin University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Terrorism & Political science. The author has an hindex of 8, co-authored 59 publications receiving 296 citations. Previous affiliations of Zahid Shahab Ahmed include RMIT University & University of New England (Australia).

Impact of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor on Nation-Building in Pakistan

Abstract: Since the beginning of bilateral ties in 1950, the China–Pakistan relationship has grown significantly. Known as Pakistan’s ‘all-weather friend’, bilateral economic cooperation has been advanced by...

Fighting for the rule of law: civil resistance and the lawyers' movement in Pakistan

Abstract: Pakistan, sometimes referred to as ‘the most dangerous place on earth’, is not typically thought of as a place where popular nonviolent resistance could take root, much less succeed. Citizen apathy, poor governance, and fear of regime repression and terrorist violence are barriers to effective civic activism inside Pakistan. Yet, over the past two years, Pakistan's authoritarian ruler was ousted and its independent judiciary restored following a massive grassroots campaign led by lawyers. The ‘men in black’, whose insistence on the rule of law and embrace of nonviolent struggle captured the hearts and minds of millions of Pakistanis, helped transform the country's political landscape in unexpected ways. The successes tallied by this nonviolent movement, this article will argue, can be attributed to the large-scale non-cooperation and civil disobedience that pressured two successive Pakistani regimes – one authoritarian and one democratic – to yield to its demands. Unity and mass participation, nonviolent ...

Regionalism and Regional Security in South Asia: The Role of SAARC

Abstract: Zahid Shahab Ahmed evaluates the progress of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). This study goes beyond economic integration to present a detailed appraisal of cooperation under the overarching themes of economic cooperation, environmental security, human welfare, and cooperation in security matters. According to the author, SAARC is making progress in addressing the myriad of issues on its agenda. The transition from agreements to actions and frequent interactions among the member states has boosted confidence. The progress of SAARC is more evident in the less controversial areas of human security, such as poverty alleviation, health and safety, human resources development, and higher education. Notwithstanding enthusiastic commitments reflected in agreements and action plans, there is a gulf between rhetoric and implementation most notably in sensitive areas relating to traditional security. In the light of the findings of this study, the author proposes that greater cooperation in common human security areas has a potential to pave the way for a cooperation on issues of a ’contentious’ nature, particularly terrorism.

Pashtun Jirgas, their potential in Pak-Afghan reconciliation and national reconstruction

Abstract: Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have mostly been hostile since 1947. The animosity has grown in complexity from various territorial disputes to frequent allegations of cross-border terro...

Poverty, Family Stress & Parenting

Abstract: Be careful what you give children, for sooner or later you are sure to get it back.-Barbara Kingsolver The experience of long-term poverty affects a child's personality development, through a family stress process in which poverty is considered to be one of the major factors. This causes family dysfunction, stress among caregivers and inadequate parenting. According to the World Bank estimates in 2003, there were 1.2 billion out of the developing world's 4.8 billion people living on $1 per day, while another 2.8 billion are living on less than $2 per day. Many factors contribute to family poverty including underemployment and unemployment. Some may 'inherit' poverty because of being born into a particular social group defined by race, class and location. Families who constitute the 'working group' may have one or both parents working at or near the minimum wage. The findings of a research done by Zaslow & Eldred (1998) provide strong support for the view that parenting is important to children's development, as are influences from the children's larger social context. Impacts of poverty The 'Family Stress Model' (Conger et al. 2000) proposes that the experience of poverty is one of the more important factors that can put severe strains on spousal relationships, bring about feelings of depression and increasing family dysfunction. According to the 'Family Stress Model' family contributes to emotional distress (e.g. depression) and family dysfunction. Family distress causes problems in the relationship between adults that are, in turn, linked to less effective parenting – a complex notion that involves insufficient surveillance, lack of control over the child's behavior, lack of warmth and support, inconsistency, and displays of aggression or hostility by parents or older siblings.

Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability.

Abstract: Impatti, adattamento e vulnerabilita Le cause e le responsabilita dei cambiamenti climatici sono state trattate sul numero di ottobre della rivista Cda. Approfondiamo l’argomento presentando il documento: “Cambiamenti climatici 2007: impatti, adattamento e vulnerabilita” votato ad aprile 2007 dal secondo gruppo di lavoro del Comitato Intergovernativo sui Cambiamenti Climatici (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). Si tratta del secondo di tre documenti che compongono il quarto rapporto sui cambiamenti climatici.

Why Men Rebel

Abstract: Why Men Rebel was first published in 1970 on the heels of a decade of political violence and protest not only in remote corners of Africa and Southeast Asia, but also at home in the United States. Forty years later, the world is riveted on uprisings in the Middle East, and the United States has been overtaken by a focus on international terrorism and a fascination with citizen movements at home and abroad. Do the arguments of 1970 apply today? Why Men Rebel lends new insight into contemporary challenges of transnational recruitment and organization, multimedia mobilization, and terrorism.

On the european union

Abstract: The extent to which member states transpose EU directives in a timely fashion is often argued to be strongly associated with the general effectiveness of national bureaucracies. But what kind of institutional solutions ensure better performance? This paper examines the patterns and effects of departmental oversight across 28 ministries in Estonia, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia. In mapping the strength of oversight, it relies on around 90 structured interviews regarding the rules-in-use on transposition planning, legal review and monitoring of deadlines. The analysis of the impact of departmental oversight is based on an original dataset of over 300 directives with transposition deadlines between January 2005 and December 2008.

Dying To Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism

Abstract: Robert Pape thoroughly examines the misperceptions about and motivations behind suicide terrorism in his book, Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism. He uses empirical data and a multidisciplinary approach to support his argument that suicide terrorism is used to meet the secular and strategic goal of compelling the withdrawal of military forces.