US nation-building in Afghanistan / Conor Keane.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Keane, Conor, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nation-building--Afghanistan.

Nation-building.

Postwar reconstruction--Afghanistan.

Postwar reconstruction.

International relations.

Decision making.

Government policy.

Afghanistan.

Postwar reconstruction--Government policy--United States.

United States--Foreign relations--Decision making.

United States.

United States--Foreign relations--Afghanistan.

Afghanistan--Foreign relations.

Physical Description:

vii, 247 pages ; 24 cm

Other Title:

United States nation building in Afghanistan

Place of Publication:

Abingdon, Oxon : Routledge, 2016.

Summary:

Why has the US so dramatically failed in Afghanistan since 2001? Dominant explanations have ignored the bureaucratic divisions and personality conflicts inside the US state. This book rectifies this weakness in commentary on Afghanistan by exploring the significant role of these divisions in the US's difficulties in the country that meant the battle was virtually lost before it even began. The main objective of the book is to deepen readers' understanding of the impact of bureaucratic politics on nation-building in Afghanistan, focusing primarily on the Bush administration, it rejects the 'rational actor' model, according to which the US functions as a coherent, monolithic agent. Instead, internal divisions within the foreign policy bureaucracy are explored, to build up a picture of the internal tensions and contradictions that bedevilled US nation-building efforts. The book also contributes to the vexed issue of whether or not the US should engage in nation-building at all, and if so under what conditions. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Introduction 1

Current Literature on Nation-Building in Afghanistan 3

Nation-Building and Bureaucratic Politics in Afghanistan 8

Method and Structure 11

Part I Background and Methodology 15

2 Nation-Building and the Afghan State 17

What is Nation-Building? 18

Nation-Building Practice 24

A History of the Afghan State 28

Conclusion 34

3 Bureaucratic Politics and Nation-Building 35

The Rational Actor Model 36

The President and the Bureaucracy 41

A New Bureaucratic Politics Model 44

Conclusion 51

Part II US Nation-Building in Afghanistan 53

4 The US Foreign Policy Bureaucracy and Nation-Building in Afghanistan 55

The Military Establishment 56

The State Department 63

USAID 68

The Counter-Bureaucracy 71

Inter-Agency Problems 74

Conclusion 86

5 Security 88

The International Security Assistance Force 88

US Efforts to Train the Afghan National Army 91

US Efforts to Train the Afghan National Police 94

The CIA and Afghanistan's Warlords 105

Conclusion 110

6 Infrastructure Development 111

The Military Establishment's Programme 112

USAID's Programme 116

Infrastructure Development Projects 122

Regulation and Oversight 132

Congress 135

Conclusion 136

7 Counter-Narcotics, and Governance 138

Counter-Narcotics Programme 139

The Legal System 151

Governance 158

Conclusion 165

Part III Avenues for Inter-Agency Cooperation 167

8 The Failure of Collaborative Mechanisms 169

Government-Based Mechanisms for Cooperation 169

Individuals as a Conduit for Cooperation 176

Non-Governmental Ideas on Inter-Agency Collaboration in Afghanistan 185

The Shortness of Staff Postings 189

Conclusion 191

9 Provincial Reconstruction Teams: A Microcosm of US Nation-Building in Afghanistan 193

Praise and Critique 194

The US Military 195

Civilian Agencies 199

The Counter-Bureaucracy, USDA and PRTs 202

Conclusion 203

10 Conclusion 204

Bureaucratic Politics and Nation-Building in Afghanistan 205

Collaborative Mechanisms 210.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781472474841

1472474848

OCLC:

927141268