Elevating the Role of Socioeconomic Strategy in Afghanistan Transition

Abstract

Afghanistan is attempting to move beyond the status of a failed state. It meets many of the criteria established by experts and used by donors to begin intervention. 2 Afghanistan has weak state institutions, is poorly governed, has been at war for nearly 30 years, and continues to have low-intensity conflict; its people are impoverished and its economy is immature. Afghanistan is also responsible for flooding the international market with opium and drug cartel spill-over effects that threaten global security. The goals of the international community (IC) have been to create a stable Afghanistan, eliminate terrorist safe havens, reconstruct the state, and reestablish the economy, but things have not proceeded as envisioned. 3. The stabilization and reconstruction of Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban in November 2001 has proven more difficult than initially anticipated. After the initial ousting of the Taliban, the question arose as to whether the country needed only state-building or whether nation-building is required as well. 4. Indeed, decades of foreign domination, invasion, and civil war have left Afghanistan in need of both state- and nation-building efforts.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 2011
Accession Number
ADA554186

Entities

People

  • Albert Sciarretta
  • Cyrus Staniec
  • John Applebaugh
  • Michael Baranick

Organizations

  • National Defense University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Afghanistan
  • Commerce
  • Economic Development
  • Failed States
  • Governments
  • Health Services
  • International Relations
  • Medical Personnel
  • National Governments
  • National Security
  • Nato
  • Nongovernmental Organizations
  • Personnel Management
  • Terrorists
  • Transportation Infrastructure
  • United States
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Military and Counterinsurgency Studies.
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.