1. WHY STATEBUILDING DIDN’T WORK IN AFGHANISTAN
- Author:
- David A. Lake
- Publication Date:
- 08-2021
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Political Violence @ A Glance
- Abstract:
- The collapse of the Afghan government illustrates the larger dilemma in all statebuilding attempts. The statebuilder wants to build a government strong enough to stand on its own. To do this, the new state must win the support of the people it hopes to rule. This need not be the entire population of a country—no government wins universal praise—but it must be a sufficiently large share of the population that it has room to maneuver, favoring some groups with a policy, and other groups with another policy, but not always sitting on the knife’s edge between repression and rebellion. In short, the statebuilder wants to build a state that is legitimate.
- Topic:
- War, Military Affairs, Counter-terrorism, Afghanistan, War on Terror, and State Building
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Asia