News July 2002

[ Research Trends ]

[ New Research Projects ]

The New Nation Rebuilding Process in Afghanistan: Reconstruction and Development Assistance

The nation-rebuilding process in Afghanistan can be characterized by epoch-making new attempts. According to the Bonn Agreement on the Afghanistan Provisional Government, signed in December 2001, the nation rebuilding of Afghanistan should be carried out by its citizens. At the same time, it was also agreed that the course to be followed by the nation until the general election to be held in 2004, should be determined by the traditional convening of the Emergency Loya Jirga, and not the United Nations. In contrast to initial expectations, many countries around the world are suffering from ethnic and religious confrontations due to the "democratic" systems they have introduced. This is because these systems, in reality, did not prove substantially democratic. Given this circumstance, attention is paid to Afghanistan's efforts to rebuild the country with emphasis on its traditional consulting system which is widely approved by the Afghan citizens. It is important to examine the impact of these new attempts on future policy processes.

By analyzing the present status of the nation-rebuilding process in Afghanistan, this research project explores the optimal course of reconstruction and development assistance capable of benefiting the Afghan citizens. Proposals will be presented concerning the systems and policies necessary for Afghan citizens to enhance their own human security, and the role to be played by the Japanese government and NGOs in the implementation of these systems and policies. These proposals will be established by comparatively studying the case of other countries with a focus on their nation-rebuilding processes and the reconstruction and development assistance they were provided. This research project also explores the optimal course of reconstruction and development assistance sent to a society facing opposition by analyzing the present status of this society and in consideration of historical and cultural climates.

[ Completed Research Projects ]

Regional Policies Contributing to International Peace - Modeled on Hiroshima as a Representative of Peace in the Twentieth Century

Given that a growing number of intra-state conflicts are occurring since the end of the Cold War, it has become necessary to review conventional peace and security strategies which in the past were founded upon military confrontation between two super powers. In addition to the nation-states, a variety of actors, including NGOs, are currently involved in conflict prevention.

This research project focused on post-conflict reconstruction and rehabilitation, which are essential in preventing conflicts from reoccurring. The project also analyzed the complementary role to be played by local governments in support of the central government in maintaining security and preventing violent conflicts.

Special emphasis was placed on Hiroshima as a model local government, given the fact that the prefecture has endeavored to realize peace and security at the level of citizenry, which will eventually contribute to world peace. The following is a summary of the project's research results.

Once a cease-fire is realized, it is vital to establish and rebuild stable and democratic governance in order to prevent a conflict from reoccurring and also to foster substantial economic development. The methods and techniques crucial to post-war restoration may be characterized as "being impartial, civil, long-termed, specific and open." These overlap with the functions of local governments. In addition, the knowledge and experience accumulated in local governments through the services they provide are sure to be useful in restoring a region divided by a conflict.

The functions to be fulfilled by local governments in supporting war-struck areas can be summarized as follows: a network, a forum, and as an agent. Particularly in relation to the third function, support should be focused on political reconstruction (support for elections), social reconstruction (technical cooperation in the field of agriculture) and mental rehabilitation (fostering counselors).

[ Workshop ]

Workshop At present, NIRA is proceeding with an independent research project on "Environmentally-Friendly Energy Use in Northeast Asia." NIRA is also providing funds to the Energy Research Institute (ERI), State Development Planning Commission of China to conduct a related research project on "Possibilities for Utilizing the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in China." A workshop was held on May 10 and 11 as part of these projects.

The CDM is a market mechanism for the reduction of greenhouse gases (GHGs) that is provided for in the Kyoto Protocol adopted at COP3. In this mechanism, GHG emissions reduced as a result of investing countries supplying CDM technologies and funds to host countries, can be counted as a reduction of GHGs for the investing countries.

At the workshop, case studies were presented by the participating institutes, and the point of issue was narrowed down to an evaluation of the project's economical efficiency.

At the workshop, there were discussions about mechanisms to promote the CDM. ERI identified those issues that would become obstacles to the promotion of the CDM in China. ERI also stated Chinese companies' need to capacity-build and to improve the accepting companies through the cooperation between government agencies and research institutes. NIRA also proposed the establishment of an Asian carbon fund.

This workshop demonstrated the existence of points of difference between Japan and China in their understanding of the CDM, originating in the different views of the purposes of the CDM held by investing countries and host countries. In summation, in this workshop it was confirmed that in order to incorporate the CDM into the environmental cooperation activities in Northeast Asia, it is necessary to consider a mechanism for its promotion based on the recognition of these differences, and to accumulate experience and deepen mutual understanding by conducting model projects.

[ Forum ]

The Second Russian-Japanese Forum On May 20 and 21, 2002, NIRA co-organized the Second Russian-Japanese Forum at the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg with the Center of Strategic Research (Moscow) and the Center for Strategic Research "North-West"(St.Petesburg). About 50 specialists from Japan and Russia participated in this forum.

The Second Russian-Japanese Forum was held to continue the work of the First Forum, held in May 2001, in raising public awareness of the importance of maintaining and developing the friendly relations between the two countries.

Under the overall theme of "The Perspectives on the Japanese-Russian Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region in a Globalizing World," this forum addressed three major sub-themes: "New Paradigms for Peace and Security in the 21st Century," "Fundamental Factors behind Transnational Terrorism and Japanese-Russian Cooperation for their Elimination," and "Perspectives on Japanese-Russian Cooperation in Cultural Fields."

NIRA Newsletter The first volume of the "NIRA Newsletter" is released.

8 pages, issued two or three times a year

NIRA has launched a new journal, "NIRA Newsletter," to provide information on the institute's activities in English. The main contents of this journal will include discussions of projects in progress, reports of symposia and lecture meetings, and information concerning NIRA's publications.

The newsletter is available at the web site: http://www.nira.go.jp/newse/niranews/index.html

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