Publications & Tools
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Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Afghan President Hamid Karzai sat down for a conversation with USIP’s William Taylor about the current effort in Afghanistan, and concerns about the strength of the U.S.-Afghan relationship. Countries: Afghanistan
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Mediation and Facilitation, Negotiation and Diplomacy, Rule of Law
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The next seven months leading up to the December policy review will be crucial for Afghanistan’s future; at that time the Obama administration—and the citizens of Afghanistan, the United States and ISAF nations—will make a judgment about progress towards stability there. Afghans and Americans need to set a course for success, and reach an agreement of what realistic, achievable progress means, and how to accomplish it. |
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In late May 2010, the Afghan government will convene a Peace Jirga in Kabul to determine a national reintegration and reconciliation strategy. Afghan women have played a variety of social and political roles during the last three decades of conflict, including as peacebuilders, but now risk being excluded from current peacebuilding processes. Issue Areas: Gender and Peacebuilding
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The presidential and provincial council elections held in Afghanistan in August 2009 were marred by irregularities and fraud, leading voters and candidates to question the fairness and utility of the democratic process there. The Afghan government announced in late January that it will delay Parliamentary elections until September 2010--several months beyond the deadline set by Afghanistan’s constitution. |
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On October 15, USIP's Alex Thier testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the critical importance of bolstering our stabilization efforts in Afghanistan and the path forward to success. Countries: Afghanistan
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On October 1, 2009, Alex Thier, director of USIP’s Afghanistan and Pakistan program, testified before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia on the Afghan elections, the importance of strengthening Afghan institutions, and the threats to success for the U.S. mission in that country. Countries: Afghanistan, United States
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The debate over where to locate the power to issue constitutional interpretations that would bind the branches of the government began during the constitutional drafting process in 2003 and continues through the present. It is essential for political and legal stability in Afghanistan that the current inter-branch stalemate over constitutional dispute resolution be resolved. Any solution must include a determination of which entity will have jurisdiction to undertake constitutional interpretation and in which circumstances. Most importantly, the solution must be achieved through an Afghan-owned process of dialogue and compromise; otherwise the outcome is unlikely to be implemented. |
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In most of Afghanistan, the rule of law has never been strong, but after 23 years of warfare it has been displaced almost completely by the 'rule of the gun.' In most of the country, regional power-holders, whether they hold official positions or not, effectively exercise political, police and judicial authority through their control of militia forces. |