https://mt.osce-academy.kg/handle/123456789/730 2026-04-15T16:45:53Z https://mt.osce-academy.kg/handle/123456789/749 Title: Changes in Gender Policy from the First (1996-2001) to the Second (2021-2025) Taliban Regime in Afghanistan Authors: Ali Zada, Wahida Abstract: This MA thesis argues that the Taliban’s gender policy has changed between the first and second regime: while many goals remain consistent, the second regime shows some changes in policy instruments and formalization and clearer changes in implementation patterns, including timing, exceptions, and uneven enforcement. It systematically describes and explains this policy change. One of the main areas of the Taliban’s focus in both regimes has been the issue of women and their rights. The Taliban’s first regime is known for imposing severe restrictions on women’s lives in Afghanistan due to their ideological and cultural views on women which were reflected in their gender policies. However, in their second regime, unlike the first one, the Taliban have not completely removed women from public life, education, work environment, and access to services instantly and completely. For instance, the Taliban have imposed their restrictions on women gradually, with some exceptions, and there are some behavioural changes in practice. These adjustments, as this research concludes, do not appear mainly driven by ideological change, but rather stem from internal resistance and external pressures; however, a change in preferences cannot be fully ruled out. Besides international sanctions and other external pressures, internal resistance, especially by women, has played a pivotal role. Afghan women today are more active and connected to the world. Their protests—though often silenced—have reached beyond borders. At the same time, global actors like the United Nations (UN) and human rights organizations have criticized the Taliban and used political tools to influence them. The Taliban are also worried that their mistreatment of women would be recorded and spread by social media users. These changes in the environment have shaped the Taliban’s approach, even if their beliefs often appear stable. 2026-01-08T00:00:00Z https://mt.osce-academy.kg/handle/123456789/748 Title: Advancing Gender Equality in Kyrgyzstan: The Role of International Development Programs Authors: Zhumaeva, Saule Abstract: This MA thesis analyzes the role of international development programs in promoting gender equality in the Kyrgyz Republic, with a focus on creating an enabling environment for women's participation in local governance and economic activities. Kyrgyzstan is examined in the context of discussions on gender, development, and institutional change, and the study analyzes the interaction between donor interventions, national gender policy, and local socio-political conditions. The theoretical framework of the study is based on a combination of feminist theory, the Gender and Development (GAD) approach, and elements of dependency theory. The study considers gender equality not as a static state, but as a process shaped by institutional, social, and economic factors. Methodologically, the study relies on a qualitative and interpretive approach, including semi-structured interviews with women participating in international development programs, as well as analysis of donor program and policy documents. The study uses a contribution-based approach, which allows development programs to be viewed as one element of a broader system of change. The results of the study show that international development programs have contributed to the expansion of women's economic opportunities, including access to resources, professional skills, and collective forms of organization, which has strengthened their economic participation and social agency. At the same time, the impact of these programs on women's participation in local governance is more limited and indirect, due to persistent institutional constraints, patriarchal social norms, and the uneven distribution of unpaid care work. The Kurak method is considered separately. It is argued that the effectiveness of programs is cumulative and context-dependent and is shaped by a combination of interrelated contributions from various actors, rather than a linear process of change. In conclusion, it is argued that international development programs play a significant but limited role in promoting gender equality. 2026-01-08T00:00:00Z https://mt.osce-academy.kg/handle/123456789/747 Title: The Impact of Electoral Systems on Political Party Development in Kyrgyzstan since its independence 1991 Authors: Bargyeva, Saule Abstract: Since gaining independence in 1991, Kyrgyzstan has experienced significant political changes in its political life, especially, in its electoral system. The country in its electoral system used all three types of electoral systems: majoritarian, proportional, and mixed. This evolution can be explained through the evolution of political parties and their development. Employing process-tracing analysis alongside empirical data that highlights the characteristics of political parties inherited from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Following independence year, Kyrgyzstan wanted to establish democratic features and build political institutions. This thesis examines the relationship between different electoral systems and political parties. The thesis focuses on several key aspects: the number of seats gained by political parties in Parliament, in other words, the representation of political parties, the stability and duration of political parties between the period of 1995-2021, the behavior of political party leaders, regarding whether they changed parties during each parliamentary election. Using historical institutionalism and rational choice institutionalism as a theoretical framework, this research explores empirical data to uncover the connections between electoral systems and political parties in Kyrgyzstan. This thesis accepts the existing literature on political party development in Kyrgyzstan, including studies on the evolution of parties, the significance of individual-driven politics, the claims of weak institutionalization of political parties, and descriptions of the electoral systems used throughout the country’s presidential and parliamentary history. However, one specific question remained under the research area: how do different electoral systems influence political parties? Particularly focusing on parliamentary elections, since 1995, during which eight parliamentary elections have been conducted, with one annulled result. Therefore, this thesis aims to contribute to the literature by examining the impact of each type of electoral system on the development of political parties in Kyrgyzstan. It uses a mixed-methods approach that combines historical analysis, process tracing, and quantitative data analysis. 2026-01-08T00:00:00Z https://mt.osce-academy.kg/handle/123456789/746 Title: From War to “Peace”: Post-2020 Transformation of State Discourse on Karabakh in Armenia and Azerbaijan Authors: Sultanov, Samir Abstract: This thesis examines the transformations of state discourses on Karabakh in Armenia and Azerbaijan since the 2020 war and asks what explains the divergence of these discursive trajectories. It places post-2020 changes within the broader context of studies of national narratives, power legitimation, and post-conflict politics, examining official rhetoric as a space where the boundaries of the permissible are articulated, the symbolic foundations of the national project are redefined, and “new realities” are consolidated. The period 2018-2020 is used as a starting point, allowing for the recording of pre-war discursive patterns and their comparison with subsequent dynamics. Methodologically, the thesis is based primarily on desk-based qualitative analysis and combines elements of critical discourse analysis and hegemonic theory. The empirical base includes a purposively selected corpus of public speeches and statements by key political leaders, as well as secondary sources used for contextualization. The central argument of the thesis is that the 2020 war acted as an internal “switch” for legitimization, generating asymmetric political incentives: in Armenia, defeat increased pressure on the government and facilitated the reassembly of the previous Karabakh-centric framework toward a more pragmatic, procedural peace discourse; in Azerbaijan, victory created the conditions for consolidating the hegemony of the victory narrative, institutionalizing “new realities,” and consolidating the political order through mobilization rhetoric. However, the thesis does not reduce discourse shifts to a single factor and recognizes that they are occurring against a backdrop of external constraints and crises-escalations, the blockade, the events of 2023, and the negotiation process. In conclusion, it is shown that after 2020, the rhetorical rapprochement around “peace” does not mean a coincidence of its content: in Armenia, “peace” is framed as a project of internal restructuring and managed procedures, while in Azerbaijan it is framed as an external recording of the results of the war and a continuation of the victorious narrative in an institutional form. 2026-01-08T00:00:00Z