The GOVERNANCE blog

Governance: An international journal of policy, administration and institutions

Afghanistan: Why statebuilding failed

Why has the project of statebuilding in Afghanistan proved to be such a failure?  Because of a misguided preoccupation with the build-up of “power-deploying institutions,” and the neglect of mechanisms for holding power-holders accountable.  So says Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili in the current issue of Governance. “Afghanistan illustrates how a fragile state requires enough capacity to defeat insurgents, but enough constraints to discourage officials from predation and abuse. Unfortunately, well-crafted constraints often seem like an afterthought, as state-building efforts obsess with building quick capacity.”  Free access to the commentary.

Written by Governance

April 15, 2016 at 5:54 pm

Posted in commentary

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