• Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Global logoCarnegie lettermark logo
DemocracyIran
  • Donate
{
  "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

REQUIRED IMAGE

Other

Rebuilding Afghanistan: Fantasy versus Reality

Link Copied
By Marina Ottaway and Anatol Lieven
Published on Jan 3, 2002
Program mobile hero image

Program

Russia and Eurasia

The Russia and Eurasia Program continues Carnegie’s long tradition of independent research on major political, societal, and security trends in and U.S. policy toward a region that has been upended by Russia’s war against Ukraine.  Leaders regularly turn to our work for clear-eyed, relevant analyses on the region to inform their policy decisions.

Learn More
Program mobile hero image

Program

Democracy, Conflict, and Governance

The Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program is a leading source of independent policy research, writing, and outreach on global democracy, conflict, and governance. It analyzes and seeks to improve international efforts to reduce democratic backsliding, mitigate conflict and violence, overcome political polarization, promote gender equality, and advance pro-democratic uses of new technologies.

Learn More

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

Authors

Marina Ottaway
Former Senior Associate, Middle East Program
Marina Ottaway
Anatol Lieven
Former Senior Associate
Anatol Lieven
Political ReformDemocracyEconomyAfghanistan

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

  • Trump sitting at a desk next to a red hat that says VETO
    Commentary
    Emissary
    After the Midterm Rout, Can Trump Change Course Without Giving Up Tariffs?

    Even if the administration maintains its broader trade policy, it should use tariffs more strategically and work with U.S. partners, not against them.

      • Barbara Weisel

      Barbara Weisel

  • Commentary
    Sada
    Life After Subsidies: The Hidden Struggles of Women Entrepreneurs in Yemen

      Safa Naser

  • Capitol building from below
    Commentary
    Emissary
    What the New Democratic Congress Can (and Can’t) Do on Foreign Policy

    Democrats now have the gavel and the purse, but the executive branch still pulls the levers on the U.S. role in the world.

      • +10

      James M. Acton, Dan Baer, Mark Baldassare, …

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    Is Russia Winning the Perception War in Germany?

    In Germany, competing perceptions of Russia are highlighting a tension between public opinion and government policy. In the country’s east, where division is widespread, populist parties are taking advantage.

      • Gwendolyn Sasse

      Gwendolyn Sasse

  • Aerial View of Tender Drilling Oil Rig
    Article
    Energy Turmoil Puts the Gulf of Guinea Back on the Map

    Two decades since Washington elevated West African oil as a strategic priority, the frontier has reemerged as a promising alternative for U.S. energy security.

      • Judd Devermont

      Judd Devermont, Gabrielle Posner

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie global logo, stacked
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC, 20036-2103Phone: 202 483 7600
  • Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
  • Donate
  • Programs
  • Events
  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Annual Reports
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Government Resources
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.