Behavioral scientists have devoted considerable attention to religious extremism and the psychological factors that contribute to an individual’s propensity toward violence. However, relatively little data are available on those who abandon extremism and become proponents of conciliation and peace. This Special report of Dr. Renee Garfinkel offers a number of tentative conclusions about individuals she has interviewed who have made this transition.
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The Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) is an independent research organization headquartered in Kabul. AREU's mission is to conduct high-quality research that informs and influences policy and practice. Read Newsletter of Number 17, April 2008.
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Afghanistan has now laid the foundation for a market-based economy. A new economic system, based on the state as a regulator, not a producer, of goods, with a clear separation between the public and private sectors, stands in place of the centralized economy of the past. An independent central bank, a liberalized foreign exchange system, and laws permitting foreigners to wholly own property characterize the new economic landscape. A doubling of the gross national product and per capita income, a more...
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The inadvertent killing of Afghans by U.S. and NATO forces undermines the international community’s efforts to stabilize Afghanistan and has resulted in a decline in approval and support for international military forces in the country. While the U.S. is in its seventh year of intervention in Afghanistan, the insurgency continues to grow. From 2002 to 2006, insurgent-initiated attacks increased by 400 percent and deaths resulting from these attacks jumped by 800 percent.
The low number of g more...
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'Afghanistan is experiencing its most severe drought in eight years, with farming communities in the northern provinces being the hardest hit. In these areas where crops and livestock are dependent on rainfall rather than irrigation, an Afghan minister reported that 1.5 million people are in need of urgent humanitarian relief. '
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In Kabul, UNESCO assisted the French NGO, ‘Afghanistan Demain’ in constructing and running homes for orphans and abandoned vagrant children and providing basic educational services.
Many of these children, of young age, are often under-nourished, traumatised by violence and illiterate. This project helps them go to school for up to 4 hours a day, and learn in small friendly groups. The project is also an opportunity for teachers, many of whom spent many years unable to teach or use their ex more...
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This study examines the constraints on the housing sector in Afghanistan. It evaluates government policy on housing, looks at the state of housing finance, and examines legal and regulatory barriers with a bearing on the housing market. The report provides policy recommendations aimed at helping to develop a private-sector led housing market. To assist in formulating policies and implementing actions, the study recommends forming a housing finance task force under the sponsorship of the governme more...
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