the critical gap between local versus international perspectives on security and justice and its ...

285 Pages·2012·1.26 MB·English

THE CRITICAL GAP BETWEEN LOCAL VERSUS INTERNATIONAL

PERSPECTIVES ON SECURITY AND JUSTICE AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR

THE U.S.-LED INTERNATIONAL INTERVENTION IN AFGHANISTAN, 2001­

2006: BETWEEN STATE-BUILDING AND THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM

by

Neamatollah Nojumi

A Dissertation

Submitted to the

Graduate Faculty

of

George Mason University

in Partial Fulfillment of

The Requirements for the Degree

of

Doctor of Philosophy

Conflict Analysis and Resolution

Committee: (.
'J Chair of Committee
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Graduate Program Director
Dean, School for Conflict
Analysis and Resolution
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Date: Spring Semester 2012
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA
The Critical Gap Between Local Versus International Perspectives on Security and
Justice and Its Implications for the U.S.-Led International Intervention in Afghanistan,
2001-2006: Between State-Building and the Global War on Terrorism

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy at George Mason University

By

Neamatollah Nojumi
Master of Arts
Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, 2001

Director: Kevin Avruch, Professor
School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution

Spring Semester 2012
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA
Copyright 2012 Neamatollah Nojumi
All Rights Reserved
ii
DEDICATION

This is dedicated to my loving other half Farhat, and my wonderful daughter Talia.
iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank the many friends, relatives, and supporters who have made this
happen. My loving wife, Farhat, supported me in every aspect of my research. My
daughter, Talia, helped me with keeping the environment desirable for completing this
research. Bruce Esposito, Marc Gopin, Tom Barfield and other friends helped me with
sourcing, material, and encouragement. Drs. Avruch, Paczynska, and McGlinchey, and
the graduate coordinators, were of invaluable help.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... ix
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................x

PREFACE ...........................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................6

CHAPTER ONE: PURPOSE OF STUDY ......................................................................6
Research Question .............................................................................................................10
Research Methods ..............................................................................................................11
Tufts University Field Research Data ..........................................................................13
United States Institute of Peace‘s Data From Mediation Between State and
Non-State Actors ..........................................................................................................14
Applying Primary Sources of Data to the Case ...........................................................15
Validity ..............................................................................................................................15
Data Management and Analysis ........................................................................................16

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ...............................................................19
The Case of Failed and Failing States and Selected Literatures ........................................20
Key Assumptions of Failed States .....................................................................................23
Different Interpretations of a Failed State .........................................................................31
U.S. Foreign Policy and the Assumptions of Failed States ...............................................38
The Conceptual Gap in the Failed State Assumptions .......................................................42
The Question of Stability and Failure of the State in Afghanistan ....................................46
Relevant Conflict Resolution Assumptions .......................................................................54
The Question of Basic Human Needs Theory ...................................................................56
The Question of Culture .....................................................................................................59
Summary ............................................................................................................................63

CHAPTER THREE: Historical Overview ....................................................................65
The U.S.-Led Anti-Taliban Military Intervention .............................................................65
U.S.-Led Intervention Strategy ..........................................................................................66
U.S. Post-9/11 Policy Toward the Taliban ........................................................................70
Preparing for Anti-Taliban/Al Qaeda Military Intervention ..............................................71
The U.S.‘s Misreading of Internal Afghan Politics ...........................................................76
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The Military Outcomes of Operation Enduring Freedom ..................................................79
Operation Enduring Freedom‘s Regional Implications .....................................................82
Political Shortfall Challenged Military Gains ....................................................................85
Operation Enduring Freedom Caused Social and Political Rifts .......................................87
The U.S. Won the Fight But Not the War ..........................................................................91
The Reemergence of the Taliban .......................................................................................96
Summary ............................................................................................................................99

CHAPTER FOUR: SECURITY IN AFGHANISTAN ...............................................101
The Struggle Between Real and Symbolic Powers..........................................................105
Different Paradigms of Security ......................................................................................109
International Actors‘ Perspectives of Security ..........................................................109
Afghans‘ Perspectives of Security .............................................................................113
Local Level of Security as an Ontological Need .......................................................117
Post-Taliban Security Construct Hampers Governance ..................................................121
Differences of Interests and Basic Local Needs ..............................................................122
Rising Corruption.............................................................................................................126
Development of a Security Vacuum ................................................................................129
Centralization of the Political Order ................................................................................130
Theoretical Approach.......................................................................................................136
Human Development Theory .....................................................................................140
Level of Culture in Shaping Local Perspectives ....................................................... 146
Locals‘ Perspectives of Security ................................................................................147
Summary ..........................................................................................................................153

CHAPTER FIVE: JUSTICE DEFINITION AND REFORMATION IN
AFGHANISTAN ............................................................................................................158
The 2004 Constitutional Loya Jirga ................................................................................162
The International Intervention Efforts in the Justice Sector ............................................168
Limits Within the Formal Justice System ........................................................................172
The Patron–Client Networks Undermine the Rule of Law ........................................173
Structural and Procedural Challenges ........................................................................175
Limits and Opportunities in the Jirga System ............................................................178
Afghanistan Between Two Legal Systems ......................................................................185
Decentralized Traditional Conflict Resolution ..........................................................189
Justice From the Perspective of Conflict Resolution .................................................193
Summary ..........................................................................................................................196

CHAPTER SIX: THE STUDY’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE LITERATURE .....199
Key Highlights of the Case ..............................................................................................205
Future Research ...............................................................................................................209
Conclusion .......................................................................................................................210

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AFTERWORD: AFGHANISTAN SINCE 2006 .........................................................213
The Current Dynamic in the U.S.-Led Operation in Afghanistan ...................................219
The Perception of Security Versus Reality on the Ground ..............................................223
The National Solidarity Program and Economic Development ......................................228
Summary ..........................................................................................................................231

REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................233
vii
LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page
4.1. Opium Production Increase in Afghanistan from 1998-2008 ...................................128
4.2. Suicide Attacks by Years Up Until 30 June 2007 .....................................................145
4.3. Question from World Opinion Poll...........................................................................149
5.1. People See Corruption as a Major Problem 2006 .....................................................171
5.2. Corruption Indicators in Afghanistan 2006 ..............................................................171

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ABSTRACT

THE CRITICAL GAP BETWEEN LOCAL VERSUS INTERNATIONAL
PERSPECTIVES ON SECURITY AND JUSTICE AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR
THE U.S.-LED INTERNATIONAL INTERVENTION IN AFGHANISTAN, 2001-
2006: BETWEEN STATE-BUILDING AND THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERORISM
Neamatollah Nojumi, Ph.D.
George Mason University, 2012
Director: Dr. Kevin Avruch

This research examines the differences between the perceptions of the U.S.-led
international intervention actors and the Afghan population, particularly in the area of
security and justice over the period between 2001 and 2006. Understanding these
perceptions was instructive in assessing their possible implications for U.S. engagement,
and in evaluating the relationship of the U.S. engagement to the attitudes of the Afghan
population. This study concluded, among other factors, that the critical gap between
international and local perspectives of security and justice suggest that the failed and
failing state notions as argued in the literature and enshrined in key U.S. national security
documents proved too narrow to guide the intervention in Afghanistan. Lessons from
Afghan history suggest that Afghan monarchs‘ and presidents‘ visions of centralization
were more a romantic understanding of a modern nation-state. Recent historical accounts,
as briefly stated in this study, suggest that Afghan leaders and their international backers
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