Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: April 2010

22 April 2010: New Publication ‘Golden Surrender?’

AAN • admin •

The reintegration of former fighters is one of the main pillars in the unfolding counterinsurgency strategy. It is however more complex and difficult to accomplish than is commonly appreciated. In this discussion paper Matt Waldman (fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University) explores the obstacles to a successful reintegration programme. […]

Events Read more

Golden Surrender: The Risks, Challenges, and Implications of Reintegration in Afghanistan

Matt Waldman •

The reintegration of former fighters is one of the main pillars in the unfolding counterinsurgency strategy. It is however more complex and difficult to accomplish than is commonly appreciated. In this paper Matt Waldman (fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University) explores the obstacles to a successful reintegration programme. These […]

Special Reports Read more

Counterinsurgency in Kandahar: what happened to the fence?

Martine van Bijlert •

A short visit to Kandahar, as it has been a while. In the afternoon there is a donkey cart bomb several blocks away. It kills three children, destroys a police post and rattles the office I am visiting. The blast of moving air tells the body something about vulnerability that it had forgotten. In the […]

War and Peace Read more

Getting ready for the next election: the IEC pushes ahead

Martine van Bijlert •

The country is gearing up for the next election. Local notables and the ambitious young are consulting and assessing the support they can muster. The Wolesi Jirga is still protesting the adoption of the new electoral decree, but nobody seems to be listening and the candidate registration process, which starts within a few days, will […]

Political Landscape Read more

15 April: New Publication: Two Interventions: Comparing Soviet and US-led state-building in Afghanistan

AAN • admin •

This thematic report compares the current US-led intervention and the Soviet state-building intervention that took place between 1979 and 1989. It focuses on three sectors of state-building: the security sector, fiscal policy, and state legitimation, and explores how issues of ownership and sequencing have influenced the outcomes of both state-building efforts. The paper describes how […]

Events Read more

Two Interventions: Comparing Soviet and US-led state-building in Afghanistan

Martin Kipping •

Although there is a broad consensus that building a capable and legitimate state is key to success in Afghanistan, there has been little systematic comparison between the current US-led intervention and the Soviet state-building intervention that took place between 1979 and 1989. This paper aims to remedy that by analysing the trajectories of both interventions. […]

Special Reports Read more

Reliable partners

Martine van Bijlert •

The pendulum has swung again. After a few days of crisis and strained relations the US administration has publicly smoothed over the unease and the anger and has welcomed Karzai back into the ranks of ‘reliable partners’. Letters have been sent, joint appearances made and reassuring statements given. It is difficult to know what is […]

International Engagement Read more

House of pain: Canada’s connection with Kandahar’s ruthless palace guard

admin •

Globe and Mail, 10 April 2010 Graeme Smith on how Canada ignored indications that Kandahar’s former governor Assadullah Khaled was running private prisons and was involved in torture, and their relationship with the murky Brigade 888 (which followed Assadullah when he left).

Recommended Reads Read more

Separating the government, the Taliban and the people (2): Meanwhile in the provinces

Martine van Bijlert •

Meanwhile in the provinces the lines are blurring even further. This is illustrated by recent instructions from the Quetta shura on how to treat people working for the government or the internationals. The instructions were communicated to Taliban commanders in the south by traveling delegations and are said to have included a set of pointers […]

Political Landscape Read more

Separating the government, the Taliban and the people (1): Karzai and the confusion in Kabul

Martine van Bijlert •

Over the last few days Karzai has found it increasingly difficult to stop saying in public all the things that he has been saying in private for months: who do these foreigners think they are, what are they playing at, and do they really think they can push me and my people around forever? Observers […]

Political Landscape Read more

Man Versus Afghanistan

admin •

The Atlantic magazine, April 2010 Stan The Man will pull it all off, with BlackOps on ‘an industrial scale’, against the odds of history, fate, tradition and liberal debate – that, at least, is what Robert Kaplan says.

Recommended Reads Read more

AAN In The Media – April 2010

AAN Team •

It takes the Villages Foreign Affairs, May/June 2010 Seth Jones quotes from publications by AAN members Antonio Giustozzi and Martine van Bijlert. Britain’s Forged Role in the World Khilafa.com, 26 April 2010 This brief discussion of Britain’s role in the world mentions AAN’s recent report on reintegration, describing it as “highly critical of the British-backed […]

AAN in the Media Read more

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