Aid Paradoxes in Afghanistan

For a state to function effectively it has to be properly funded. This is the starting point for Nematullah Bizhan's masterly analysis of Afghanistan's post-2001 transition, which demonstrates with great clarity how complications in this sphere can have vast ramifications for state building. This is truly a book to treasure. William Maley, Professor at Asia Pacific College of Diplomacy, The Australian National University Impressive and well written. Aid Paradoxes in Afghanistan unpacks the challenges associated with the process of state building in situations of fragility. Building on his experience in international development, public policy, and reforms in post-2001 Afghanistan, Nematullah Bizhan persuasively explains paradoxes arising from well-intentioned foreign aid. Sometimes donor policies contribute to state building while in others aid undermines these gains. This book will be of great interest to scholars and practitioners of public policy, international development and political economy. Ngaire Woods, Professor of Global Economic Governance and Dean of Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, UK A fascinating, insightful and balanced exploration of the post-9/11 surge in aid to Afghanistan. Nematullah Bizhan undertakes extensive historical and comparative research, and also draws on his experience as a senior Afghan government official. Contrary to much state-building rhetoric, his study shows that in fact the ability of aid to strengthen domestic institutions is severely limited, and explains why this is. Stephen Howes , Professor of Economics and Director of Development Policy Centre at Australian National University This book is an exceptional and unique contribution to examine the role of foreign aid on state building process in Afghanistan. The goal, process, administration and effects of the substantial aid that flowed to Afghanistan since 9/11 are examined carefully and many useful and important lessons are drawn for effective use of foreign aid in the recipient countries. M. Ishaq Nadiri, Jay Gould Professor of Economics at New York University and Former Chief Economic Advisor to the President of Afghanistan How can it be that, after the US appropriated more than US$ 100 billion in aid to Afghanistan, its government remains fragile and the country insecure? To be sure, twenty years of Soviet invasion, civil war, and Taliban rule had left the state in shatters. But in this pioneering study, Nematullah Bizhan moves beyond this obvious truth to explore the sensitive question: did aid promote state building or hinder it? Focusing on reform plans, the resulting structure of aid, fiscal management in Kabul, and the relation between state and society, he shows how the best intentions can go awry. Rigorously analytic and meticulous in his research, Bizhan offers an unsettling perspective on US policy in Afghanistan and, no less, deep insights on foreign aid to weak states everywhere. This brilliant study should be a must read everyone involved with state building worldwide, whether as donor or recipient. S. Frederick Starr, Chairman of Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at American Foreign Policy Council and author of Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane This is an excellent work, a clearly written revelatory study on a highly complex subject- effects of aid on state building in situations of fragility that has long concerned those of us seeking answers to the question why billions of dollars of foreign aid to Afghanistan failed to build Afghan state institutions effectively. Nematullah Bizhan makes compelling arguments in support of his conclusions that the nature and modality of foreign aid, along with donor and Afghan government policies, were at the root of this failure and that foreign aid, in fact, reinforced building of a fragmented-aid based-rentier state. The book is a must-read for scholars and development practitioners specializing in state fragility and foreign aid. Nipa Banerjee, Senior Fellow at University of Ottawa and Former Head of Canadian International Development Agency in Afghanistan