Recent violence in Afghanistan highlights the deterioration of the country's security situation. Decades of war, local rivalries, economic instability, the persistent drug trade, lack of social investments, a porous border and other difficulties also contribute to destabilization and create openings for Taliban and al-Qaeda extremists.

To counter these trends, Afghan government and civil society actors have attempted to bring stakeholders together to address these issues. In an effort to buoy local peacebuilding initiatives, USIP Senior Program Officers Nina Sughrue and Keith Bowen, in conjunction with local partner the Welfare Association for the Development of Afghanistan (WADAN), conducted a two-pronged training workshop on conflict resolution in Kabul in April and July.

The programs included 34 Afghans from more than two dozen non-governmental organizations, including the Afghan Help and Training Program, the Afghan NGOs Coordination Bureau, the Afghan Women's Council and UNESCO.

During the April session, USIP trainers taught the Institute’s conflict resolution portfolio of conflict analysis, communication skills, conflict styles, negotiation, mediation, problem solving and training techniques through lecture and interactive role-playing exercises.

In preparation for the July workshop, the participants were required to complete USIP’s on-line conflict analysis course, which was recently translated into Dari and instructed to develop a training module on one of the workshop topics and adapt them for the local Afghan context.

During the July workshop, the participants presented their modules to each other—essentially training each other in a blend of USIP methodology and traditional Afghan conflict resolution mechanisms. USIP trainers provided feedback to the groups based on the content of their work, the level of participation of group members and their training techniques. All of the groups incorporated actual Afghan problems as examples to complement the USIP methodology.

Said Sughrue, “We were thoroughly impressed with the group, especially in the last training where it was evident that they had put in a tremendous amount of effort on their training modules—incorporating lectures role playing and group work. It is also important for us to see first-hand how USIP materials translate to traditional societies like Afghanistan. This type of training is important but only one part of a larger approach which includes the totality of the Institute’s work.”

Reflected Bowen, "We are benefitting from our experience in Iraq, where we've built an experienced cadre of conflict management facilitators. With our support, these facilitators are bringing groups together and solving problems in their communities. Already, several of the participants from these Afghan programs have applied what they've learned to help solve problems in their communities. "

USIP plans to incorporate these trainers in a pre-existing network of trainers in Afghanistan.