Afghanistan
Building
Security and State in Afghanistan: A Critical Assessment
17-19 October 2003
Princeton, New Jersey
LISD convened a special meeting, “Building Security and State
in Afghanistan: A Critical Assessment” on the Princeton University
campus, 17-19 October 2003. Representatives of the Afghan
government, NGOs, and diplomats stationed in Afghanistan participated
in the meeting from Kabul via video conference. Funding for
the meeting was provided in part by a project grant from the Carnegie
Corporation of New York.
Participants agreed that security and state-building are closely
interconnected in Afghanistan and that solutions will therefore also
need to be holistic. Underscoring the reciprocal nature of security
and state-building, participants urged greater focus on and international
financial assistance to both security and state-building policies.
In particular, participants called on the international community to devote
greater resources now to building Afghanistan’s
policing and military capacity and to meeting the requirements for
fair and free elections in June 2004, such as voter registration
and civil education campaigns. Without increased capacity in
Afghanistan, there can be no longer-term solution to the security
situation, nor to the ability to have a democratic government.
Conference Program
Conference Summary
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