SECURITY, DEVELOPMENT, AND PEACEBUILDING: REIMAGINING AFGHANISTAN’S PATH TO STABILITY

Abstract

Afghanistan, a nation that hosted the U.S. led peace-building mission since 2004, the objective of this peace-building mission was transformed Afghanistan into stable market-oriented economy and a stable democracy, yet the mission could not get off the ground and in the end it became clear that the effort was a hard nut to crack. The objectives of this missions remains elusive and failed to bring some concrete reforms, as policymakers tried to carry out changes but the results showed that they were barking up the wrong tree. All the two decades' efforts made by the U.S. did not bring Afghanistan a stable country, because despite trying to set up institutions, the situation kept proving that stability was easier said than done. The Western (US-led) development model has become a case in point, because of its tendency for direct military intervention as in the cases of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya, where attempts to bring about reforms often ended up being a double-edged sword. The case of Afghanistan is quite pertinent due to its time period, spanning around twenty years of NATO and ISAF forces stay, to enhance the socio-economic profile of the local populace, and initiate development through enhancing security, though efforts to work out solutions often showed that peace was walking on thin ice. This study will be benefiting from both primary face-to face interviews of the scholars from Afghanistan, US and the field experts, to understand the of peace building and understand the relations of security and development that took place in Afghanistan, as researchers attempt to look into these issues while knowing that the nexus is a bone of contention. And the paper provides a first-hand glimpse into this often-overlooked terrain in development and security studies, where the author tries to lay out findings even though the subject itself is a can of worms.