Commentary
During our visit, we observed a democracy that has learned from its difficult past and is working toward an even more dynamic future.
Sarah Yerkes, Natalie Triche
{
"authors": [
"Marina Ottaway",
"Anatol Lieven"
],
"type": "other",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "russia",
"programs": [
"Russia and Eurasia",
"Democracy, Conflict, and Governance"
],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"Afghanistan"
],
"topics": [
"Political Reform",
"Democracy",
"Economy"
]
}
REQUIRED IMAGE
Other
Rebuilding Afghanistan: Fantasy versus Reality
Published on Jan 3, 2002
Source: Carnegie
An unrealistic Western reconstruction program for Afghanistan is emerging even as the war continues. The international community is calling for the creation of a democratic, secular state, but it is also clearly not willing to provide a large military force to help build it. Given the extreme fragmentation and militarization of Afghan society, democratic reconstruction cannot possibly work. Instead, we need to devise a more modest and realistic program, aimed at creating peace and restoring basic economic functions rather than rebuilding the entire state. Furthermore, to minimize competition for control of the central government, and to give warlords a vested interest in maintaining peace, most international aid should be channeled directly to Afghan regions.
Click on the link above for full text of this Policy Brief.
A limited number of print copies are also available.
About the Authors
Marina Ottaway is a senior associate and codirector of the Democracy and Rule of Law Project. She is currently working on a comparative study of semiauthoritarian regimes in Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East. Her most recent books are Funding Virtue: Civil Society Aid and Democracy Promotion (Carnegie Endowment, 2000) and Africa's New Leaders: Democracy or State Reconstruction? (Carnegie Endowment, 1999).
Anatol Lieven is a senior associate for foreign and security policy in the Russian and Eurasian Program. He was previously editor of Strategic Comments at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Among his publications are Chechnya: Tombstone of Russian Power, The Baltic Revolution: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the Path to Independence, and Ukraine and Russia: A Fraternal Rivalry, which are largely based on his work as a correspondent for the Times of London in the former Soviet Union from 1990 to 1996. Before that, he was a correspondent for the Times in Pakistan, and covered the Afghan war from the side of the anti-Soviet Mujahedin. Previous policy briefs include Fighting Terrorism: Lessons from the Cold War and Soldiers Before Missiles: Meeting the Challenge from the World's Streets.
About the Authors
Marina Ottaway
Former Senior Associate, Middle East Program
Before joining the Endowment, Ottaway carried out research in Africa and in the Middle East for many years and taught at the University of Addis Ababa, the University of Zambia, the American University in Cairo, and the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.
Anatol Lieven
Former Senior Associate
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Senegal: An Island of Resilience
- Continental Asia and the Rise of Portfolio PoliticsArticle
“Central Asia” as an analytical category is itself part of the problem. The term is a Soviet administrative inheritance, drawn along lines that served the convenience of Moscow. The Central Asian states the Soviets named no longer see themselves through this category alone and are not aligning across political blocs but are instead building external partnerships sector by sector, assigning different partners to different functions.
Jennifer B. Murtazashvili
- Delimitation After Defeat: India’s Unfinished Debate Over RepresentationPaper
The battle over representation and regional power has been delayed—not resolved—and will shape the future of India’s federal balance.
Louise Tillin, Milan Vaishnav, Andy Robaina
- In Russia, Private Companies Have Been Left to Pick Up the Tab for Ukrainian Drone AttacksCommentary
The cost of air defense has become an unregistered tax on revenue for businesses. While military rents are consolidated in the federal budget, the costs of defense are being spread across the balance sheets of companies and regional governments.
Alexandra Prokopenko
- California’s Global Trade Cities: Driving Local and National OutcomesPaper
Cities across the United States facilitate investment in American communities. Yet, because global attention remains focused on U.S. trade policy, their distinctive and bold local approaches to international trade and investment promotion are often underappreciated.
Wyatt Frank, Marissa Jordan
