CIAO DATE: 12/02

Post-Conflict Peace Operations and Governance in Afghanistan

IFES

Jeff Fischer
December 2001

International Foundation for Election Systems

Abstract

Over the last two decades, post-conflict military and civilian interventions have occurred with increasing frequency and scope. By illustration, the first UN peacekeeping mission in 1948, the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), was mandated to supervise the truce of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, and initially deployed 93 military observers. By contrast, the current international interventions in Kosovo (UNMIK) and East Timor (UNTEAT) are de facto governments, employing thousands of international and local staff with police and military services included in the portfolio.

In the case of Afghanistan, the potential size and complexity of the intervention endow it with a unique set of challenges and a substantial price tag. The issue of scale alone translates into unprecedented demands on the UN delivery system as well as on the humanitarian, reconstruction, and institution building systems of other international and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

Experience shows that more complex peace and political interventions have been difficult to initiate and administer, resulting in governance gaps and public service delivery problems. These difficulties are the result of policy disconnects which, on the one hand, expect quick and effective responses to such crises; and on the other, lack the integrated planning and institutional readiness to respond effectively.

Full Text (PDF, 42 pgs, 1.6 MB)