Reconstructing Afghanistan and Iraq : Policy and Institutional Challenges

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Reconstructing Afghanistan and Iraq: Policy and Institutional Challenges1) In Afghanistan and Iraq, worsening terrorist/insurgent activities during the past year have resulted in increased recognition that the policy and methods for dealing with reconstruction/stabilization in both countries need revision. The project aimed to: 1) clarify the process through which reconstruction operations in these countries have led to the current stage ; 2) identify and define the core problems in this process ; 3) research US policy and institutional transformation ; 4) and identify future directions. In both countries, the research supported the view that the specific problem lay in the manner in which the US managed the transformation from combat operations to reconstruction operations. In particular, improvement needs to be made in the management of inter-agency processes for planning and organizing reconstruction operations. A further problem was identified in failure to take into account past experiences in peacebuilding in the policy-planning process, a fact that may be explained by a mixture of institutional, cultural and political factors.2) Specific activities funded by this project included : a) two research trips to the US and the UK, involving interviews with practitioners, policy makers and specialists in reconstruction activities; b) contracting of specialists to contribute academic research papers ; c) collecting first and secondary data ; d) analysis and report writing.