Building State and Security in Afghanistan

A reprint of the edited volume Building State and Security in Afghanistan, is available from Lynne Rienner Publishers. The book was edited by Wolfgang Danspeckgruber, LISD Director, with Robert Finn, LISD Senior Research Associate and former Ambassador to Afghanistan The book was first published by the Woodrow Wilson School in 2007.

Building State and Security is a volume that bridges the pragmatic and the theoretical, and in which leading scholars and policy analysts delve into the critical issues facing Afghanistan today. Their exploration of questions relating to security and peacekeeping, the rule of law, institutional design, mobilization of the economy, and relations within the region provides a crucial resource for understanding not only Afghanistan’s prospects, but also the opportunities and constraints associated with state building more broadly.

Praise for Building State and Security in Afghanistan:

“As Afghanistan is once again struggling with its old demons of internal strife and external interference, we are indebted to Wolfgang Danspeckgruber and Robert Finn for offering the refreshing insights of recognized experts. Policy-makers, scholars, students and the general public will all benefit from the different perspectives, critical analyses and collective wisdom assembled in this excellent volume.”
Lakhdar Brahimi, former Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Afghanistan

“The topics discussed in this book will take the reader to the depth of key issues Afghanistan is currently facing which need to be addressed not only by scratching the surface but by going to the root causes. This is what this important book offers.”
M. Masoom Stanekzai, Advisor to the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

“This excellent volume seeks to explain why, despite the best efforts of the Afghans and the international community, Afghanistan has yet to fully recover from two and a half decades of conflict, while making a series of recommendations which, if implemented, would go a long way towards redressing some of the shortcomings of the Afghan process to date and speed up its successful realization.”
Ambassador Francesc Vendrell, former EU Special Representative for Afghanistan

Contents:

Foreword
Hamid Karzai

Preface
Prince Hans Adam II of Liechtenstein

Introduction
Wolfgang Danspeckgruber and Robert Finn

Part I: State Building

Building State and Security
William Maley

Security in Afghanistan: A Historical Perspective
MarvinG. Weinbaum

Constitutional Engineering and Democratic Stability: The Debate Surrounding the Crafting of Political Institutions in Afghanistan
Andrew Reynolds

A Third Branch? (Re)Establishing the Judicial System in Afghanistan
J Alexander Thier

Part II: Centralization vs. Decentralization

Centralization vs. Decentralization: The Importance of Sequencing and Timing
Rani D. Mullen

State-Building at the Subnational Level in Afghanistan
Andrew Wilder and Sarah Lister

Civil Society and State-Building in Afghanistan
Susanne Schmeidl

The Afghan Economy
Wolfgang Danspeckgruber and Robert Finn

The Failure to Bridge the Security Gap: The PRT Plan, 2002-2004
Barbara J. Stapleton
Keeping the Peace Without Peacekeepers
Eckart Schiewek

Part III: International Perspectives

The Afghanistan-Pakistan Border and Afghanistan’s Long-Term Stability
Amin Saikal

Islam and the Transformative Power of Tradition
Anna Seleny

Epilogue
Wolfgang Danspeckgruber

Appendixes: Timeline of Key Events; UN Security Council Resolutions Related to Afghanistan