Can Less be More in Afghanistan? State-building Lessons from the Past to Guide the Future
How did the state-building project in Afghanistan, once at the forefront of international engagement in the country, lose focus and support? As the U.S.-led intervention in Afghanistan marks 10 years, USIP hosted a discussion on this question with political and development experts.
Read the event coverage, ‘Worrying Fragility' Marks Afghan Nation-Building
Ten years after the U.S.-led intervention in Afghanistan initiated a new, post-Taliban order, the success and sustainability of the international community's ambitious state-building project is being questioned. Though billed as transformative, it is unclear whether the state-building investments and reforms of the past decade can be sustained, or will represent a job half-done.
With the Afghan engagement now at a critical juncture, marked by the convening of another Bonn conference in early December, international donor assistance budgets to Afghanistan are declining, prompting a need to look back as well as forward. Why has deeper and broader engagement been repeatedly attempted despite concern that many efforts have had limited and sometimes counter-productive effects? How can lessons from the past help to identify reasonable ways forward? On November 17, 2011 USIP convened a discussion with a panel of leading experts who examined this important topic at a critical juncture in the state-building history of Afghanistan.
- Astri Suhrke, panelist
Senior Researcher, Chr. Michelsen Institute
Author, When More is Less: the International Project in Afghanistan - Mohammad Haneef Atmar, panelist
former Minister of Interior
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan - J. Alexander Thier, panelist
Assistant to the Administrator and Director, Office of Afghanistan and Pakistan Affairs
U.S. Agency for International Development - Michael Semple, panelist
2011-2012 Carr Center Fellow
Harvard Kennedy School - Andrew Wilder, moderator
Director, Afghanistan and Pakistan Programs
United States Institute of Peace
Explore Further
- ‘Worrying Fragility' Marks Afghan Nation-Building
Event News Feature | November 23, 2011 - Learn more about USIP's work in Afghanistan
- Read the Peacebrief, "Impact or Illusion? Reintegration under the Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration Program"
- Read the Peaceworks, "Designing a Comprehensive Peace Process for Afghanistan"
Related Academy Courses
- Engaging with Identity-Based Differences
- Advising and Mentoring in a Reform Environment
- Cultural Adaptability in Complex Operations
