PRIO and the Christian Michelsen Institute have just published a report examining aid policies pursued in Afghanistan since late 2001 and aimed at building peace in a country devastated by two decades of conflict.

The report presents the four pillars of the peacebuilding design and examines the national and international context for what is termed as a 'conflictual peacebuilding'. The state-building process and relief and reconstruction policies are then discussed in more detail, followed by an examination of the political transition process and how the rule of law has been established. The national security situation and the international and regional contexts are reviewed, as is Norway's role in the peacebuilding process. The report proposes guidelines for the policy agenda ahead:

 Refocus and limit the war against the militants so as to reduce the negative impact on the peacebuilding agenda.
 Emphasize institutional reforms and local capacity-building as prerequisites for a large influx of new funds.
 Address issues that have been relatively neglected in the reconstruction process so far, including human rights, anti-poverty programmes and regulatory policies that promote greater equality and equity in sharing the benefits of reconstruction
 Anchor the peacebuilding process more firmly in the regional context, inter alia by creating an institutional forum for cooperation between Afghanistan and its neighbours. Norway should consider consolidating its present aid portfolio and concentrating on an identifiable niche where the Norwegian contribution can make a difference.

Authors:
Astri Suhrke, CMI
Kristian Berg Harpviken, PRIO
Arne Strand, CMI