Menu

United States Institute of Peace

Home ▶ Events

The Future of Afghan Policing: Security after NATO Withdrawal

Date: Tuesday, May 27, 2014 / Time: 9:00am - 11:00am 

Center: Asia Center

Share This
Print the Page

While much attention has focused on the Afghan National Army ‘s ability to secure the country after the withdrawal of NATO combat forces in 2014, the equally-important role of the police is frequently overlooked.

Future
Pictured left to right, Michelle Hughes, Shawn Stith, Ambassador Catherine Royle, and Robert Perito

Huge investments by the international community to create the Afghan National Police (ANP) have had mixed results. Disagreements over what the police force should look like have led to the simultaneous development of multiple models. Now Afghanistan will need to take the lead in resolving this enduring dilemma and creating a professional law enforcement agency suitable for a democratic society. Planning for this transition is underway, but the challenge of transforming the interior ministry, which supervises the police, and the 157,000-member force is formidable. Among the most pressing issues is the future of the Afghan Local Police, a controversial, U.S.-trained local village defense force that does not have police powers, but reports to the interior ministry.

Recently, USIP has published two new reports – Counterinsurgency, Local Militias, and Statebuilding in Afghanistan and The Afghan National Police in 2015 and Beyond - that address the issue of planning for police transition and the future of the Afghan Police. On May 27, U.S. Institute of Peace held a public discussion with experts on the future of policing in Afghanistan. A panel of distinguished experts discussed the history of how the international community has tried to build the ANP and the future of policing in Afghanistan.

Speakers

Ali Jalali, Opening Remarks
Former Minister of the Interior of Afghanistan
Distinguished Professor, Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies

Ambassador Catherine Royle
Former Head, International Police Coordination Board Secretariat
Former Deputy Ambassador, UK Embassy, Kabul

Aziz Hakimi
Co-Author, Counterinsurgency, Local Militias, and Statebuilding in Afghanistan
PhD Candidate, Department of Development Studies, SOAS, University of London

Michelle Hughes
Author, The Afghan National Police in 2015 and Beyond
Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of VALRAC Innovation, LLC

Dr. Jonathan Goodhand
Co-Author, Counterinsurgency, Local Militias, and Statebuilding in Afghanistan
Professor, Department of Development Studies, SOAS, University of London

Shawn Stith
Former Director, International Security Assistance Force Ministry of Interior Ministerial Advisory Group

Related Publications

How to Support Female Entrepreneurs in Afghanistan

How to Support Female Entrepreneurs in Afghanistan

Tuesday, June 25, 2024

By: Belquis Ahmadi;  Afsana Rahimi

Potential areas of cooperation between the Taliban and the international community, such as private sector development and alternative livelihoods to now-banned opium poppy cultivation, will be on the agenda at a meeting of international envoys for Afghanistan hosted by the United Nations in Doha from June 30 to July 1. Discussions on women’s rights are not included, as the Taliban consider it an internal matter. This is ironic, given that the private sector is one area where the Taliban allow limited women’s participation.

Type: Analysis

Economics;  Gender

As Taliban Poppy Ban Continues, Afghan Poverty Deepens

As Taliban Poppy Ban Continues, Afghan Poverty Deepens

Thursday, June 20, 2024

By: William Byrd, Ph.D.

Afghanistan, historically the leading source of the world’s illegal opium, is on-track for an unprecedented second year of dramatically reduced poppy cultivation, reflecting the Taliban regime’s continuing prohibition against growing the raw material for opiates. The crackdown has won plaudits in international circles, but its full implications call for clear-eyed analysis and well considered responses by the U.S. and others. The ban has deepened the poverty of millions of rural Afghans who depended on the crop for their livelihoods, yet done nothing to diminish opiate exports, as wealthier landowners sell off inventories. The unfortunate reality is that any aid mobilized to offset harm from the ban will be grossly insufficient and ultimately wasted unless it fosters broad-based rural and agricultural development that benefits the most affected poorer households. 

Type: Analysis

Economics

View All Publications