PrintIncreasing Understanding and Effectiveness of Operations in Afghanistan
- Support to Peacebuilding in Higher Education
The Institute, in partnership with Kabul University and the Center for Policy and Human Development (CPHD) in Kabul, helped create Afghanistan’s first international peer-reviewed academic research journal, published in Dari, Pashto and English. After the success of last year's "Teaching Peacebuilding" workshop in Kabul for university teachers from all over Afghanistan, USIP is sponsoring a series of similar workshops in the provinces. These workshops are being carried out with our partner, Cooperation for Peace and Unity (CPAU), a prominent think-tank widely recognized as Afghanistan’s leading research institution in the area of conflict resolution. USIP is sponsoring a Peace Fellow at UPEACE Costa Rica in a masters program for the academic year 2009/2010, who will return to work on peace studies and human development in Afghanistan. Finally, USIP is sponsoring the identification and translation of key materials used for the teaching of peacebuilding and human development by our partners at the University of Kabul. - Priority Grant Competition: Civil Society Capacity Building for Dialogue and Conflict Resolution
Through its Priority Grant Competition, USIP is helping strengthen the capacity of local communities to analyze and resolve conflicts through peaceful means, integrating best- practice in negotiation and mediation with traditional means of conflict resolution. Women Activities & Social Services Association (WASSA), which recently concluded its workshop series for a USIP sponsored project “Dialogue and Conflict Resolution Program Through Negotiation and Mediation Training,” is witnessing an overall decline in conflict cases in communities where project participants work. In the Northern city of Kunduz, USIP is supporting a peace education project in partnership with CPAU. USIP is also funding a media capacity building project with the Killid Group that will enhance the capacity of local journalists to report on human rights violations and war crimes. - Afghan Fellowship
USIP fellowships support the work of outstanding scholars, policymakers, journalists, and practitioners. The Jennings Randolph Senior Fellowship Program recruits high quality candidates for fellowships through an extensive process of consultation with the USIP Afghanistan working group, the Afghanistan team lead, and others. Past and current fellows include Mr. Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai, an adviser to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and Ms. Palwasha Hassan, Country Director for Rights & Democracy in Afghanistan. In 2009 USIP awarded grants to Michael Semple and Naqib Stanekzai for their work documenting war crimes in Afghanistan. The project aims to ensure that the corpus of war crimes documentation assembled by the Afghanistan Justice Project from 2002 to 2008 is accessible to authorized researchers. Read more about their work.During his fellowship at USIP, Masoom published a Special Report "Thwarting Afghanistan's Insurgency: A Pragmatic Approach to Peace and Reconciliation," (September 2008); a USIP Peace Brief "Afghanistan is Not Lost, But Needs More Attention," (June 2008); and an Op-ed posted on the Britannica Blog “The Food Crisis in Afghanistan: More than Band-Aids are Needed.” In addition, he has engaged with the think tank and policy communities in both Washington DC and New York and made numerous presentations both inside and outside of USIP.
USIP also extended a three-month Fellowship to Mr. Ahmad Fahim Hakim, Deputy Chair of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, in August 2008. The focus of Hakim’s fellowship was on the 2009 and 2010 elections in Afghanistan. Former Afghan Fellows continue to play important roles in Afghan reconstruction efforts. Stanekzai is a key architect of the reconciliation process with the Taliban, Hakim is a chief Human Rights advocate and Hassan was nominated for the Womens Affairs Minister position in December 2009. Her research focuses on women’s development and participation of women in the political process of Afghanistan.
- External Expert Afghanistan Working Group
USIP’s Afghanistan Working Group serves as a hub for top experts and US government personnel working on Afghanistan. The Working Group hosts meetings on current critical issues, disseminates information, and creates an informal space for interagency and intergroup communication and collaboration, which ultimately leads to improved approaches and strategies in Afghanistan. - The Future of Afghanistan
In January 2009, the Future of Afghanistan Project, directed by J Alexander Thier, launched a book of essays, "The Future Of Afghanistan." The volume identifies weaknesses of early approaches and outlines a vision for success going forward. USIP experts continue to advise local and international audiences, government officials, and media personnel on the ongoing situation in Afghanistan. - Afghanistan, Pakistan, and their Neighbors
Afghanistan’s future is tied closely to the future of the broader region and similarly a secure and functioning Pakistan has lasting implications for regional stability. This initiative, in conjunction with the World Bank and New York University’s Center on International Cooperation, will entail an examination of the relationship between Afghanistan, Pakistan and neighboring states, and the influence of U.S. policy in regional dynamics will also be considered. The Institute will commission a series of essays from some of the world’s top regional experts, and an edited volume and series of special reports will be published. - External Expert Afghanistan Working Group
USIP’s Afghanistan Working Group serves as a hub for top experts and US government personnel working on Afghanistan. The Working Group hosts meetings on current critical issues, disseminates information, and creates an informal space for interagency and intergroup communication and collaboration, which ultimately leads to improved approaches and strategies in Afghanistan. - Congressional Testimony
USIP experts have testified before key Congressional committees on the issues impacting U.S.-Afghanistan relations, such as overall U.S. strategy, civilian-military cooperation and stabilization efforts, Afghanistan’s 2009 elections, and the importance of strengthening Afghan institutions. Experts have also responded to briefing requests from Members of Congress and Congressional staff on the latest situation in the country.