Afghanistan: Peace and Stability Operations: U.S. Institute of Peace

(Courtesy: U.S. Army)

Afghanistan
Institute Activity Overview

The Institute over the past several years has organized numerous activities related to postconflict stabilization, reconstruction, and reconciliation in Afghanistan. Included below is a brief sampling of Institute activities, products, and resources related to the current security, economic, and political challenges facing Afghanistan today.

Providing Policy-Relevant Analysis and Technical Assistance

The Institute actively supports policymakers and professionals from across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors working in the field on issues related to postconflict stabilization, reconstruction, and reconciliation in Afghanistan. Completed and ongoing projects related to Afghanistan include:

Administration of Justice in Afghanistan – Initiated within days after the start of military action against the Taliban regime, the Institute's Rule of Law project on the Administration of Justice in Afghanistan seeks to facilitate active discussion among international legal experts to explore the challenges of reestablishing the rule of law in postconflict Afghanistan. As part of these efforts, the Institute, at the request of the United Nations, developed a series of proposals for use at the December 2001 Bonn negotiations between Afghanistan's warring ethnic and political factions. One provision of the subsequent Bonn Accords, regarding the establishment of a framework for reorganizing the interim legal system, was based directly on the Institute's recommendations. In addition, at the request of the U.S. State Department, the Institute in 2002 facilitated the compilation, translation, production, and distribution of 1,000 copies of Afghanistan's pre-war law and legal codes—copies of which had been systematically destroyed throughout the nation by the Taliban.

Civilian-Military Cooperation in Postconflict Environments – Designed to explore ways of addressing deficiencies observed in civilian-military cooperation in Afghanistan, the Institute and RAND undertook a special multi-year research project on civilian-military cooperation in postconflict environments in 2002. The product of larger efforts by the Institute's Special Initiative on the Muslim World to examine issues impacting stability in Central Asia, the study was initiated on behalf of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. Department of Defense. A report featuring initial findings from the joint study entitled "Aid During Conflict: Interaction Between the U.S. Military and Civilian Assistance Providers in Afghanistan from September 2001-June 2002," is expected to be completed in late 2004.

Establishing Security and the Rule of Law – Convened in November 2001 by the Institute's Rule of Law Program, "Rebuilding Afghanistan: Establishing Security and the Rule of Law" brought together experts on Afghan law and legal traditions along with other legal and security practitioners and specialists from around the globe. The all-day event was organized by the Institute in recognition that the process of political transition, reconstruction, and recovery in Afghanistan will involve enormous challenges for the people of Afghanistan and the international community. Findings from the conference were subsequently released for comment by other legal and security professionals around the globe unable to attend via the Internet. In April 2004, as part of the Institute's ongoing work on postconflict stabilization in places such as Afghanistan and beyond, the Institute published a report entitled "Building Civilian Capacity for U.S. Stability Operations: The Rule Law Component." Written by the Institute's Rule of Law Program, the report examines the requirements for the U.S. government to develop a civilian capacity to deploy police, judges, and corrections officials to peace and stability operations.

[Back to Top]

Supporting the Work of Others

As part of its overall work to support research, education, and training projects related to the prevention, management, and resolution of international conflict, the Grant Program has awarded over $600,000 in grants to support work related to Afghanistan.

A Look at Selected Grant Projects Supported by the Institute:

Stanford University – A project to produce a book on nationbuilding in Afghanistan. The book will address the struggle to reconstruct a viable state and peaceful society in this factionalized country by providing a firsthand account of policies and their implementation in Afghanistan along with an analysis of the roles played by key actors and events in the region. It will also investigate broader issues concerning the nature and potential of Western intervention in both Islamic and postconflict states, with the intention of drawing policy lessons for application beyond Afghanistan.

CARE USA – A project to support the promotion of peace and human rights in Afghanistan by analyzing national and international awareness of the overall human rights situation in three different Afghan settings. Case studies will include Kabul, one other major Afghan urban center where potential or actual conflict remains, and one rural area in Afghanistan that is attempting to recover from conflict. The project will culminate in a policy-oriented conference and a subsequent report that will recommend strategies and responses to human rights challenges.

Eastern Mennonite University – A project to research and document the jirga as an institution for indigenous governance and conflict transformation in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Researchers will interview members of jirga in the two countries, with the objective of producing a resource and training manual in English and Pashto for use by Afghani and Pakistani jirga members, NGOs, the United Nations, government agencies, and academics. The need for the project derives from the central role of jirga in all levels of social interaction in the two nations' tribal societies, combined with a lack of written documentation on how they operate.

University of Notre Dame – A comparative research project to examine the relationship between Islam and conflict, with particular attention to: (1) the conditions under which Islam becomes the basis for mass mobilization and violent conflict; and (2) the reasons for the variation in the degree to which Islamic identities have unified and mobilized people in violent conflicts. The study, which will result in a book and several articles, will focus on Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Chechnya.

[Back to Top]

Increasing Public Understanding

A delegation of influential Iraqi women visited the United States in early November, on a trip sponsored by the Institute, the World Bank, and other organizations.

Zalmay Khalilzad, then U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan and former Institute Board member, speaks on "Afghanistan and the Future of Post-Conflict Reconstruction" at an Institute public conference in September 2002.

Over the past several years the Institute has organized numerous public events, published an array of reports, and created a wide assortment of Internet based resources related to current challenges in Afghanistan. Covering issues from establishing security to promoting civil society development and the rule of law, the list below highlights some of the Institute's resources available online related to Afghanistan.

Recent Publications | Public Events | Library Resources

Recent Publications

Establishing the Rule of Law in Afghanistan
Special Report, March 2004
Assesses efforts by Afghan institutions and international donors to develop the apparatus of law enforcement and administration of justice needed to ensure that the rights and protections guaranteed to Afghans in their new constitution can be meaningfully implemented.

Don't Just Blame the Intelligence Community for Failing to Foresee 9/11: The Foreign Policy Establishment and the Press Dropped the Ball, Too
Newsbyte, September 4, 2003
Explores the gaps between what is now known about Afghanistan before September 11, 2001, and how journalists, policymakers, and human rights advocates perceived the situation at the time.

The Road Ahead: Lessons in Nation Building from Japan, Germany, and Afghanistan for Postwar Iraq
Peaceworks, May 2003
Discusses lessons learned from nation building operations Japan, Germany, and Afghanistan for postwar Iraq.

Unfinished Business in Afghanistan: Warlordism, Reconstruction, and Ethnic Harmony
Special Report, April 2003
Focuses on challenges facing the international community in rebuilding Afghanistan in the wake of the fall of the Taliban.

Food Security in Afghanistan
Event Summary, Nov. 5, 2002
Examines highlights from an Institute briefing on efforts to provide food and humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan.

Free and Independent Media: A Forgotten Aspect of Afghan Recovery?
Newsbyte, Oct. 3, 2002
Explores the challenges facing journalists in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan: Women in Government and Society
Event Summary, Oct. 3, 2002
Explores highlights from an Institute briefing on the changing role of women in civil society development in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan: Prospects for Peace and Reconstruction
Event Summary, Jan. 15, 2002
Examines highlights from an Institute briefing on the prospects for peace and reconstruction in Afghanistan.

View a full list of Institute reports.

Published in 2004 by the U.S. Institute of Peace Press, Where is the Lone Ranger? examines U.S. policy on peace operations and the challenges of establishing sustainable security in postconflict environments in places such as the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

Public Events

2004

February 25, 2004 - The Lone Ranger: America and Post-Conflict Stability Operation
A Current Issues Briefing
[Audio Archive]

February 18, 2004 - Is Afghanistan Ready for Elections?
A Current Issues Briefing
[Audio and Video Archive]

January 22, 2004 - A New Afghanistan: Challenges of Governance and the Rule of Law
A Special Current Issues Briefing on Capitol Hill
[Audio and Video Archive]

2003

June 12, 2003 - Beyond the Radar Screen: Afghanistan's Civil War and the Rise of International Terrorism
A Senior Fellow Project Report by Roy Gutman
[Report Summary] [Audio Archive]

2002

Nov. 5, 2002 - Food Security in Afghanistan
Current Issues Briefing
[Event Summary] [Webcast Archive]

Sep. 24, 2002 - Afghanistan: Prospects for Free & Independent Media
Current Issues Briefing
[Event Summary] [Webcast Archive] [Institute Newsbyte]

Sep. 5, 2002 - 9/11 a Year On: America's Challenges in a Changed World
Institute Conference
[Conference slide show] [Webcast Archive]

May 21, 2002 - Afghanistan: A Regional Perspective
Current Issues Briefing
[Webcast Archive]

May 7, 2002 - Afghanistan: Prospects for Justice
Current Issues Briefing
[Webcast Archive]

Jan. 29, 2002 - Afghanistan: Women in Government and Society
Current Issues Briefing
[Event Summary] [Webcast Archive]

Jan. 15, 2002 - Afghanistan: Prospects for Peace and Reconstruction
Current Issues Briefing
[Event Summary] [Webcast Archive]

2001

Nov. 20, 2001 - Afghanistan: The Humanitarian Response
Current Issues Briefing
[Webcast Archive]

Nov. 1, 2001 - Afghanistan: Players, Politics, & Prospects
Current Issues Briefing
[Webcast Archive]

View a full list of Institute public events.

Library Resources

Voter registration and elections are conducted in Kabul province to select the 46 delegates to the Afghan Constitutional Loya Jirga in December 2003. (USAID/OTI Photo)

Regional Web Links

Afghanistan Web Links
Links by topical categories to resources primarily in English that provide information on the conflict in Afghanistan.