This second Afghanistan HDR explores the importance of the rule of law to human development. Establishing effective rule of law is essential to rebuilding the nation, restoring justice, shaping development and making it effective, and preventing a chaotic relapse into conflict. Because Afghanistan is emerging as a modern state in a society still anchored in traditional values, the simplistic approach of replicating existing systems of rule of law that evolved elsewhere cannot work here. The cou more...

The Fund for Peace, an independent research organization, and FOREIGN POLICY magazine present this fourth annual Failed States Index. Using 12 social, economic, political, and military indicators, the report ranks 177 states in order of their vulnerability to violent internal conflict and societal deterioration. To do so, the authors examined more than 30,000 publicly available sources, collected from May to December 2007, to form the basis of the index’s scores. The 60 most vulnerable states more...

Eight actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated in May 2008, and four improved, according to the new issue of CrisisWatch, released this June.

"This briefing from the International Crisis Group, examines the slow progress one year after the Afghan government and the international community committed to a “shared vision of the future” for a “stable and prosperous Afghanistan”. At the London Conference of 31 January-1 February 2006, Kabul and over 60 nations and international institutions agreed on “three critical and interdependent areas or pillars of activity” over five years: security; governance, rule of law and human rig more...

"Afghanistan is not lost but the signs are not good. Its growing insurgency reflects a collective failure to tackle the root causes of violence. Six years after the Taliban’s ouster, the international community lacks a common diagnosis of what is needed to stabilise the country as well as a common set of objectives. Long-term improvement of institutions is vital for both state building and counter-insurgency, but without a more strategic approach, the increased attention and resources now dire more...

News, history, links and more on Afghansitan

A collection of links, images and events on Afghanistan. To subscribe to a weekly newsletter on Afghan current affairs send a request to Afghanlinks@aol.com

"Since the Sept. 11 attacks, the international spotlight has been trained on Afghanistan, the Central Asian country notorious for housing one of the most repressive regimes on the planet as well as suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden.

But how much do most people really know about Afghanistan? A little digging on the Web sheds light on the enigmatic nation.

Because the Taliban has outlawed the Internet for being obscene and anti-Islamic, the following sites are all hosted outside Afghanis more...

This web site gives information on different cultural, economic and political sectors in Afghanistan. It has a good data base of links and images related to Afghanistan.

The prospects for peace in Afghanistan are being undermined because
Western countries are failing to deliver on their promises of aid to
the tune of $10bn and because aid going to the country is used
ineffectively, according to a new report written by ACBAR, an
alliance of national and international aid agencies working in
Afghanistan.

The international community has pledged $25bn to Afghanistan since
2001 but has only delivered $15bn. The US is the biggest donor to
Afghanistan but als more...