In USIP's work on the court system in Kabul, a venue that women had much more access to, researchers focused more specifically on women's issues and were able to directly question and challenge some of the current discriminatory practices. Ultimately, however, all projects must create a balance between increasing the participation of less represented groups and accepting that such challenges to the local social and political order may be negatively perceived by the community. Discussions with women in both venues suggest that better education, access to economic opportunities, and improved security and livelihoods would improve political opportunities for women more gradually but also more meaningfully than externally imposed social change.106
The Importance of Government Buy-in
In addition to community buy-in, government buy-in is also essential. he most successful programs that USIP has worked on are those where government officials, as well as local elders, have supported the process. In particular both the CCM and the DRC projects, where provincial governors were key actors in ensuring the success of the programs, proved the importance of government buy-in (see, for example, box 13). While communities often work to maintain their autonomy from the state, there is also an understanding that projects and other political processes that have the government's consent are more likely to have cases brought to them.
Ultimately all projects must create a balance between increasing the participation of less represented groups and accepting that such challenges to the local social and political order may be negatively perceived by the community.
For programs to be successful, they must deal with the shifting and variable influence of a variety of local government officials.
Where state control is tenuous, local government officials may attempt to undermine projects they see as empowering community leaders and thus threatening their power. Such projects are less worth investing time and political capital in and could even exacerbate problems.
For example, the CCM was initially based on a joint initiative between the governor of Khost and TLO.l07 he elders on the CCM worked closely with government officials, often doing much of the dispute resolution and discussion of the case on their own and then presenting the resolution to government officials. At the same time, CCM members resisted when the governo