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Centre for Regional Policy & Dialogue (CRPD) - A Project of KKF

Background

The Taliban’s takeover of Kabul on Aug 15 2021 quickly turned into threat [and threat perception] for democrats in Afghanistan and the rest of the region. The mentioned threat can also be anticipated in the North-Western districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. World Health Organization recently warns that millions of Afghans could lose access to essential healthcare as more than 2,000 facilities in the country are at risk of closing (B.B.C. News, 2021). The prevailing atmosphere and the violence on protesters and journalists drew the attention of the world humanitarians. Therefore the United Nations has taken notice of the violence,  torture and killing of four of peaceful demonstrators and journalists in Afghanistan, as they used ammunitions, sticks and whips (Aljazeera, 2021).

Keeping in view the nature of the political developments in Kabul, it can be perceived that public spaces in both Pakistan and Afghanistan for civil society are going to shrink. Extremism, sectarianism and terrorism will probably increase which might become a major threat for democratic worldview in South Asia and the wider world.  While contextualizing the aforementioned threat in Afghanistan particularly and its impact in Pakistan and the region, certain indicators can be helpful; soon as Kabul’s airport reopened for evacuation flights most of the civil society members and other professionals, including journalists, educationists, humanitarians [foreigners & local], students etc. desperately tried to flee from Afghanistan (The New York Times, 2021). According to reports a U.S plane flew 823 Afghan civilians out from Kabul (India Today, 2021).

It is not possible, at least for now, to evacuate every individual democrat from Afghanistan. And leaving behind these civil society members without [re]mobilizing them for democracy and civic rights would end up as death of civil society in Afghanistan and the region. They need to be supported for their activism and mobilization. Moreover, in this oppressive atmosphere civil society in Afghanistan should be encouraged to keep working for a sustainable democratization in Afghanistan which is best possible by transnational connectivity. The wave of non-violent protests in the post-Taliban occupation has not been supported fully by civil society in Pakistan and other countries yet. One of the reasons of the non-supportive silence of Pakistani civil society is disconnect with the Afghan civil society; the other one is the shared perception of insecurity from the collaborators of Taliban in Pakistan.

Besides, the shrinking public spaces on both sides of the border are also source of immediate problem for the process of democratization in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the region. Democratization is not possible without social actions/process while social processes are not possible without public spaces.

Centre for Regional Policy & Dialogue (CRPD) is a project of KKF, based in Islamabad Pakistan focused on and specialized in conducting research and publications on peace & conflict, exploring public spaces, monitoring social processes and democratization in South & Central Asia region – particularly Pakistan and Afghanistan.

CRPD “connects the disconnected” to keep the process of peace building and democratization in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Centre helps in creating a mechanism through which the aforementioned connectivity can be ensured and sustained.

The Centre re-explores the fading spaces through research-based networking and outreaching along with creating [new] spaces for the social processes and democratization. The mechanism also includes advocacy on the relevance between public spaces and democratization.

Objectives

  1. To bolster and facilitate process of democratization in Pakistan and Afghanistan
  2. To support peace processes in Pakistan and Afghanistan
  3. To connect the peace-builders and civil society in Pakistan and Afghanistan
  4. To explore and create public spaces for social processes and democratizations in the newly merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

What We Do

  1. Transnational Connectivity of Civil Society
  2. Creating and Exploring Public Spaces
  3. Networking of Networks
  4. Capacity building of activists
  5. Surveys and Researches
  6. Monitoring and Evaluations
  7. Research Publications
  8. Documentaries

How We Do

Transnational Connectivity of Civil Society: CRPD is a forum which connects peace builders and civil society in the region of South and Central Asia. This connectivity happens through conferences, research publications etc. The Centre provides forum for democrats to improve their capacity by capacity building trainings.

  1. Creating and Exploring Public Spaces
  2. Networking of Networks
  3. Capacity building of activists
  4. Surveys and Researches
  5. Monitoring and Evaluations
  6. Research Publications
  7. Documentaries

Social Media Monitor

Background

The maxim that “Media is the fourth pillar of the State” has already recognized the importance of media in the process of statecraft, social processes, political processes, mapping people’s interests/demands, public announcements, discourse [setting] etc.

With the social media coming on surface, nature and level of communication have changed for both state/government and masses.

Prior to the popularity of social media, in traditional media, audiences were targeted for specific programs and interests. In the time of print and electronic media it was said that youth, women and apolitical individuals do not read or watch news programs or even current affairs, but now social media has changed the typology of audience where all kinds of news and programs are the consumption of every individual – irrespective of their gender, social class and political status.

Here are few of the differences between traditional and social media:

  1. Social media influences maximum viewers, while traditional media’s audience is generally more specific.
  2. Social media is adaptable and dynamic (acceptable to alterations even after publishing), but in traditional media no changes are possible (valid) after publication.
  3. The nature of social media is instant, whereas traditional media is bound of the press times.
  4. Communication and conversation of social media is two-way conversation, while communication in traditional media is traditional – one-way conversation.
  5. The demographic data on social media are often unreliable, but data in traditional media goes through a formal process, which is considered to be more accurate than the data of social media.
  6. Social media is uncensored or less censored as compared to traditional media

Social Media as source/tool of Research

Tweeter, Facebook and Instagram

Trend(s) [and Counter-Trend(s) – related to];

  • Afghanistan
  • Borderland
  • Pakistan – [security related trends]

Indicators

  • Gender variations
  • Ethnic variations
  • National & International Participation
  • Elite and subaltern proportion and variation

Methodology and Sample

  • 100 to 150 tweets on tweeter – though dependent on the popularity of trend

Objectives

  • To monitor popular trends and counter trends – related to the above mentioned fields
  • To highlight all types of variations – in participation – in the trends
  • To note down the counter-trends of the trends
  • To discuss different aspects of the popularity of trends
  • To present the monitoring in a weekly and monthly reports

The aforementioned reports will elaborate the political common-sense through the inquiry of, how and why people express their views regarding any issue.

Methodology for Facebook

Viral and popular stories (pictures + videos + posts etc) – related to Peace and conflict and borderland