Herat Security Dialogue-VI

6th Herat Security Dialogue (HSD-VI)
The Future of Nation-States
13-14 October 2017-Herat, Afghanistan

The institution of “nation-state” has been the leading model of political organization since 18th century. While primarily a European invention, it has become a universal model, though often reluctantly and externally-imposed in the case of non-European/Western communities. However, the massive socio-economic, political, and technological changes pose new challenges to the viability and the structure of the nation-states, both from within and externally. These challenges and questions are multi-dimensional and often contradictory. On one hand, the advancement of globalization trends in politics, economy, technology and society have created supra national-states entities, actors and concepts such as Multinational Corporations, the Internet, Global Governance, Transnationalism, Hegemonic powers (global/regional) and Islamists’ notion of the Caliphate. On the other hand, anti-Globalization trends aim to shrink the space and the role of nation-states. Trends such as Devolution, Identity politics, Isolationist politics and Sub-nationalism challenge the primacy of nation-states from within.

The Sixth Herat Security Dialogue (HSD-VI) will discuss these and related issues to acquire better understanding about the future of nation-states, particularly in the case of conflict-ridden nation-states such as Afghanistan.

Questions/Topics

  • Interaction between National Sovereignty and Interdependence, Alliance, Dependence, Hegemony and Globalization;
  • Paradigm of Failed/failing States; lessons learned;
  • State-system in the age of Global War on Terrorism;
  • Democratic state: challenges and opportunities;
  • Non-Western concepts of Nation-states;
  • Concept of State in Islamic thoughts and practices; • The modern Caliphate: Grievance or Ideology?;
  • Decentralized/Devolved State VS Centralized State;
  • Constitutional design for divided/post-conflict societies;
  • The post 2001 State-building experience in Afghanistan & the way forward.

The Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS) cordially invites all scholars, researchers and practitioners to submit abstract of their original presentation/paper related to them of the conference to the conference cell by 15 September, 2017. Successful authors will be invited to present their paper at the conference.

For more information please contact us:
Email: hsd@aiss.af;  hsd2017.aiss@gmail.com;
Phone: +93(0) 202232806
Viber/IMO/WhatsApp: +93(0) 785923916
Webpage: aiss.af