Building a New Afghanistan [Paperback]

Robert I. Rotberg (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0815775695 | ISBN-13: 978-0815775690 | Publication Date: February 27, 2007

In the wake of the Taliban nightmare, Afghanistan must tackle serious problems before it can emerge as a confident, independent nation. Security in this battered state continues to deteriorate; suicide bombings, convoy ambushes, and insurgent attacks are all too common. Effective state building will depend upon eliminating the national security crisis and enhancing the rule of law. This book offers a blueprint for moving the embattled nation toward greater democracy and prosperity.Robert Rotberg and his colleagues argue that the future success of state building in Afghanistan depends on lessening its dependence on opium and enhancing its economic status. Many of Afghanistan's security problems are related to poppy growing, opium and heroin production, and drug trafficking. Building a New Afghanistan suggests controversial new alternatives to immediate eradication, which is foolish and counter-productive. These options include monetary incentives for growing wheat, a viable local crop. Greater wheat production would feed hungry Afghans while reducing narco-trafficking and the terror that comes with it. Integrating this land-locked country into the Central Asia or greater Eurasia economy would open up trading partnerships with its northern and western neighbors as well as with Pakistan, India, and possibly China. Developing a sense of common purpose among citizens would benefit the economy and could help to unite the nation. Perhaps most important, bolstering better governance in Afghanistan is necessary in order to eliminate chaos and corruption and enact nationwide reforms. Fresh and insightful, Building a New Afghanistan shows what the country's leadership and the international community should do to resolve dangerous issues and bolster a still fragile state.Contributors include Cindy Fazey (University of Liverpool), Ali Jalali (former minister of the interior, Afghanistan, and National Defense University), Hekmat Karzai (Centre for Conflict and Peace Studies, Afghanistan, and Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies, Singapore), Alistair J. McKechnie (World Bank Country Director for Afghanistan), Paula Newburg (Skidmore College), and S. Frederick Starr (Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University).

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This impressive collection of articles focuses on the serious obstacles Afghanistan must confront before it can successfully emerge as a confident, independent nation. Written by experienced and expert Afghan, US, and British contributors, the essays examine the overriding dilemmas and fundamental perils in great depth....A fine piece of scholarship, essential for those interested in Middle East politics." —S. Ayubi, Rutgers, CHOICE, 10/1/2007

"An absolute 'must-read' for anyone seeking the latest insights, perspective, and possible solutions to Afghanistan's current quagmire. Highly recommended." — Internet Bookwatch, 9/1/2007

"This collection of essays by experts with substantial reform experience on the ground, many in official capacities, provides readers with an excellent overview of the current situation in Afghanistan. It also offers both a comprehensive model of state-building and an understanding of the intricacies, vicious cycles, and practical dilemmas inherent in international development assistance....this book makes a powerful addition to the state-building literature." — International Journal on World Peace

About the Author

Robert I. Rotberg is director of the Program on Intrastate Conflict, Conflict Prevention, and Conflict Resolution at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, and president of the World Peace Foundation. Rotberg is the author or editor of numerous books, including State Failure and State Weakness in a Time of Terror (Brookings/WPF, 2003).

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press (February 27, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815775695
• ISBN-13: 978-0815775690
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,190,203 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolute "must-read" for anyone seeking the latest insights, perspective, and possible solutions, September 2, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Building a New Afghanistan (Paperback)

Building a New Afghanistan offers a host of essays from a diversity of learned contributors discussing the complex problem of rebuilding Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban's severe occupation. Afghanistan today is riddled by security problems connected to poppy growing, opium and heroine production, and drug trafficking; Building a New Afghanistan offers creative and controversial alternatives to the current strategy of "immediate eradication", which has failed to produce satisfactory results. Individual essays include "Rebuilding a Robust Afghan Economy", "Regional Development in Greater Central Asia: The Afghan Pivot", "Responding to the Opium Dilemma", "The place of the Province in Afghanistan's Subnational Governance", and more. An absolute "must-read" for anyone seeking the latest insights, perspective, and possible solutions to Afghanistan's current quagmire. Highly recommended.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A bit dry, but a good overview of Afghanistan's issues, January 5, 2008

By 

Knud A. Hermansen - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Building a New Afghanistan (Paperback)

This was a bit of a dry read but the opinions in it are very well reasoned. It covers a wide variety of issues on what Afghanistan needs to do in order to recover for the last three decades of war. It examines confronting the Taliban, dealing with the narco-economy, economic development and sub-national government. This is a great read for someone trying to get an overall sense of the issues and possible solutions. It is a collaboration of several authors, many of whom served in the Afghan government, so the authority of the sources is good. It takes an interesting tack for Afghanistan's development as more of a trading than manufacturing nation. The book also does a good job of looking at complexity of confronting the opium dilema.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stationed in Kabul and everything in the book is true, May 4, 2009

By 

David M. Blakemore - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Building a New Afghanistan (Paperback)

I am a U.S. citizen currently working in Kabul, Afghanistan. Reading this book I have found that the data and the articles are from the 2006 timeframe but they still apply. Here it is 2009 and the struggle to bring stability (peace), an end to corruption, an end to the poppy / narco-trade, and a helping develop a strong Afghan government are still the issues of the day. Whether to enable the government, even though much of corruption has found its way there, or to use International agencies is still the valid. How to enable the Afghanistan people to provide all this for themselves with International agencies / armies only providing training, assistance (money and military presence - but only as a backup) is still being worked and policy is being developed. This book provides insight what the issues are and how long they have been around.