SOUTH ASIA IN TRANSITION: ELECTIONS, POLITICAL PARTIES, AND CIVIL SOCIETIES
CONFERENCE ORGANISED BY SOUTH ASIA INSTITUTE AND KONRAD-ADENAUER-STIFTUNG
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DATE/TIME
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April 9, 2014, 10.00 - 16.30
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LOCATION
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Akademie der Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung,
Tiergartenstr. 35, Berlin,
Deutschland
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Please registrate for the event and use the online-registration
https://aoweb.kas.de/KAS_VaAnmeldung/Teilnehmerdaten.aspx?id_v=45983&a_A=1
Presidential elections in Afghanistan, General elections in India, one year of a new government in Pakistan: Experts and political decision makers from Germany and from within the region discuss and analyse new and old promising actors which have the potential to stimulate change in states and societies in South Asia.
South Asia is in the mood and mode of elections. In May 2013 Pakistan witnessed its first transfer of power between two civilian governments via the polls and according to the Constitution. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) of then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had to leave office, while the Pakistan Muslim League N (PML-N) regained power; Nawaz Sharif became Prime Minister. The world’s biggest democracy is preparing for general elections, which will take place within the next couple of months: In India, regional and newly formed political parties might become game changers in a political system that for decades was dominated by two parties, namely the Indian National Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party. And at the same time, Afghanistan faces the end of Hamid Karzai’s presidency after 13 years in office. When the Afghans will vote for a new President, Karzai will not run for another term due to constitutional restrictions. With the ISAF-withdrawal ahead, the Presidential elections to be held on April 7 will be a crucial milestone for Afghanistan.
This conference will bring together experts from India, Afghanistan and Pakistan to disucss implications and conditions under which the elections take place: To which extent did Pakistan succeed in its democratic transition? How did new political forces as well as the existing ones perform in the newly elected Parliament? Why was India much more successful than other South Asian states in the establishment of a multi-party system? How will the rise of new political parties like the Aam Aadmi Party change the Indian political party system from a long-term perspective? With regard to Afghanistan, the role of elections as democratic mechanisms of stability and political integration will be the focus of dialogue. Are elections the cure of all and what are their limitations? Doubtless, the holding of free and fair elections and especially the acceptance of electoral results will be one of the most significant prerequisites for future peace, national reconciliation and integration in Afghanistan.
Programme
9.30-10 a.m.
Registration
10 a.m.
Welcome Remarks by
Dr. Wolfgang Maier
Deputy Head of Department European and International Cooperation, KAS
Introduction by
Prof. Subrata Kumar Mitra, Ph.D.
South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University
10.30 p.m.
Panel I: India and the resilience of its democracy
- Benedict Pöttering
Vice President Youth of the European People's Party (YEPP) and Deputy Chairman Junge Union - Prof. Salma Bava
Director, Europe Area Studies Programme/Professor of European Studies
School of International Studies
Jawaharlal Nehru University, Neu Delhi - Prof. Niraja Gopal Jayal
Centre for the Study of Law and Governance
Jawaharlal Nehru University, Neu Delhi - Ravindra Kumar
Editor and Managing Director
The Statesman, Kolkata
Moderator:
Dr. Jivanta Schöttli
South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University
12 p.m.
Lunch Buffet
1 p.m.
Panel II: Democracy and political transition in Pakistan
- Roderich Kiesewetter MP
Member of the CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group of the German Bundestag
Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee - Prof. Salma Malik
Assistant Professor
Department of Defence and Strategic Studies
Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad - Prof. Shaun Gregory
Professor of International Security
School of Government and International Affairs
Durham University - Cyril Almeida
Assistant Editor
The Dawn, Islamabad
Moderator:
Dr. Siegfried O. Wolf
South Asia Institute
2.30 p.m.
Coffee Break
2.50 p.m.
Panel III: Afghanistan on the eve of elections
- Prof. Baryalai Hakimi
Head, Law and Political Sciences Department
National Center for Policy Research, Kabul University - Philipp Münch
German Institute for International and Security Affairs - Barry Salaam
Journalist, Kabul - Thomas Ruttig
Co-Director/Co-Founder
Afghanistan Analysts Network
Moderator:
Marc Frings
Team Asia and the Pacific, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
4.20 p.m.
Concluding Remarks
Dr. Martin Gieselmann
Director, South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University
Dr. Beatrice Gorawantschy
Director
Team Asia and the Pacific, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
