Afghanistan’s Displacement Crisis: Regional Spreading and the Position of Assistance

This thesis study aims to satisfy the need for a composite intersectional study examining the cross-border spread of the flight of Afghans and the attitude of the major donor-system of the international community and its affiliated humanitarian organisations, such as the UN and the ICRC. The main hypothesis for which an exploration shall be sought is as follows. Strongly tied to the regional escalation of the Afghan refugee crisis, the international security dilemma has burdened an efficient approach to aid assistance of major humanitarian actors during and after the Cold War. An inquiry into the relevance of this expansive statement may result into a multi-layered explanation. Over a timespan of several decades, well before the turn of the century and many more recently, many Afghans have fled their homes to nations sometimes far and sometimes closer to home, into Iran and Pakistan which have functioned as host nations ever since the Soviet invasion of 1979. The latter host,...Show moreThis thesis study aims to satisfy the need for a composite intersectional study examining the cross-border spread of the flight of Afghans and the attitude of the major donor-system of the international community and its affiliated humanitarian organisations, such as the UN and the ICRC. The main hypothesis for which an exploration shall be sought is as follows. Strongly tied to the regional escalation of the Afghan refugee crisis, the international security dilemma has burdened an efficient approach to aid assistance of major humanitarian actors during and after the Cold War. An inquiry into the relevance of this expansive statement may result into a multi-layered explanation. Over a timespan of several decades, well before the turn of the century and many more recently, many Afghans have fled their homes to nations sometimes far and sometimes closer to home, into Iran and Pakistan which have functioned as host nations ever since the Soviet invasion of 1979. The latter host, Pakistan, has recently had severe difficulties with the high number of refugees flooding local border towns and into its second-to largest city Karachi. Host-fatigue appears to have caused police brutalities towards refugees who have settled in Karachi and Quetta, the latter being a popular destination among Pashtun refugees who have travelled across the Durand Line border for decades. The problematic attitudes of local government forces have sparked shock among the Pashtun refugee community, resulting in a group of tribal leaders organising a peaceful protest movement named the PTM. Such spurs of feelings of discontent with the status quo may very well result into less favourable protest movements, such has the past demonstrated. The plight of the Afghan cause ties into the extent of the security concerns of major international powers. Since the donors of the international aid system are often the ‘big players’ and member to the, however fictional, international community, the Afghan refugees are dependent of and victim to the mood swings of these actors.Show less

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Afghanistan’s Displacement Crisis: Regional Spreading and the Position of Assistance