Counterinsurgency, Local Militias, and Statebuilding in Afghanistan by Jonathan Goodhand and Aziz Hakimi - HTML preview

 About the InstItute

 The United States Institute of Peace is an independent, nonpartisan institution established and funded by Congress. Its goals are to help prevent and resolve violent conflicts, promote postconflict peacebuilding, and increase conflict-management tools, capacity, and intellectual capital worldwide. The Institute does this by empowering others with knowledge, skills, and resources, as well as by its direct involvement in conflict zones around the globe.

 Chairman of the Board: J. Robinson West

 Vice Chairman: George e. Moose

 President: Jim Marshall

 Executive Vice President: Kristin Lord

 Chief Financial Officer: Michael Graham

Board of Directors

 J. Robinson West (chair), chairman, PFc energy, washington, D.c. • George e. Moose (Vice Chair), Adjunct Professor of Practice, The George washington University, washington, D.c. • Judy ansley, Former Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor under George W. Bush, washington, D.c. • eric edelman, Hertog Distinguished Practitioner in Residence, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International studies, washington, D.c. • Joseph eldridge, University Chaplain and Senior Adjunct Professorial Lecturer, School of International Service, american University • Stephen J. Hadley, Principal, RiceHadleyGates, LLc, washington, D.c. • Kerry Kennedy, President, Robert F. Kennedy center for Justice and Human rights, washington, D.c. • ikram U. Khan, President, Quality care consultants, LLc, Las Vegas, Nev. • Stephen d. Krasner, Graham H. Stuart Professor of International Relations, Stanford University, Palo alto, calif. • John a. Lancaster, Former Executive Director, International council on Independent Living, Potsdam, N.Y. • Jeremy a. Rabkin, Professor of Law, George Mason University, Fairfax, Va. • nancy Zirkin, Executive Vice President, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Washington, D.C.

 Members ex Officio

• John Kerry, secretary of state • Kathleen Hicks, Principal Deputy Under secretary of Defense for Policy • Gregg f. Martin, Major General, U.S. army; President, National Defense University • Jim Marshall, President, United States Institute of Peace (nonvoting)

 Much international effort and funding have focused on build- ing up and bureaucratizing the means of violence in Afghani- stan. At the same time, a paral el set of government and NATO experiments have been undertaken in arming local defense forces under the Afghan Local Police (ALP) program to fight the insurgency and provide security at the local level. This report focuses on the role and impact of the ALP on security and political dynamics in the context of ongoing counterinsurgency and stabilization operations and the pro- jected drawdown of international troops. Detailed case stud- ies show the mixed and often perverse effects of the ALP program. In view of these findings, it is recommended that the program should not be expanded any further, that there be stronger state oversight and support, and that medium- to long-term plans should be developed to facilitate the ALP’s absorption into the Afghan National Police.

 Related Links

 ■ Armed Groups Maintaining Law and Order: Dealing with Reality by Bruce Oswald (Peace Brief, May 2013)

 ■ Police Transition in Afghanistan by Donald J. Planty and Robert M. Perito (Special Report, February 2013)

 ■ Les ons from Afghanistan’s History for the Current Transition and Beyond by Wil iam Byrd (Special Report, September 2012)

 ■ Afghanistan’s Civil Order Police by Robert M. Perito (Special Report, May 2012)

 ■ Myths and Misconceptions in the Afghan Transition by Shahmahmood Miakhel and Noah Coburn (Peace Brief, April 2012)

 ■ Afghanistan’s Police by Robert M. Perito (Special Report, August 2009)