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A Failed US Peace Building Project in Afghanistan

Exploring Cause–Effect Relationship

Pages 271-290 | Published online: 13 Jun 2016
 

Abstract

This article argues that while the concept of peace building proved beneficial to Western society, it drew flak in pre-2014 Afghanistan for its inbuilt faults, the overarching US–Taliban conflict and the state failure towards meeting the prerequisites of the coalition strategy. It also argues that peace building in the immediate future of post-2014 Afghanistan is improbable due to the existing and likely conflicts between and among the Afghan government, the Taliban and the newly emerging Daesh or IS group for power, group and ideological domination. The given predicament, the article notes, is fraught with serious consequences for the war-haggard Afghans, their fragile country and its sensitive neighbourhood.

Acknowledgements

I am indebted to all the three referees for their valuable and insightful comments; Prof Gulshan Dietl of SIS, JNU, New Delhi India for her timely advice and Dr Vivek Kaushak, Assistant Editor, Journal of Strategic Analysis, IDSA, New Delhi, for his prompt response and help.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

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52. Margherila Stancati and Yarboslav Trofimov, ‘West Explores Plan B for Forces in Afghanistan’, The Wall Street Journal, January 22, 2014.

53. Michael Hart, no. 45.

54. Zhao Huasheng, China and Afghanistan: China’s interests, Stances, and Perspectives, A Report of the CSIS, Russia and Eurasia Program, Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Washington DC, 2012, pp. 6–7.

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95. Clár Ní Chonghaile, no. 70.

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99. David W. Brown, no. 58.

100. Rahim Faiez and Lynne O’Donnell, no. 69.

101. Elaheh Rostami-Povey, no. 17.

102. Michael Hart, no. 45.

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