State-formation first: Recommendations for reconstruction and peace-making in Afghanistan

The Petersberg conference held near Bonn at the beginning of December 2001 and the donor conference held in Tokyo in mid-January 2002 defined the broad outlines for peace-making and reconstruction in Afghanistan. Under the Bonn agreement, a loya jirga consisting of representatives from all the country's regions will agree on a new constitution in the coming months. A new government to replace the transitional government will be chosen in democratic elections to be held in summer 2004. Provided this process of political peace-making and democratisation takes place as planned, the international community intends to provide the financial means to enable this famine-stricken and war-torn country to take a leap forward in development over the next four years. In this paper, the authors suggest a revision of the overall strategy that has been defined and developed up to now...