CIC’s continuing close involvement in Afghanistan’s reconstruction is led by Director of Studies and Senior Fellow Dr. Barnett Rubin. Most recently, CIC assisted the Afghan government in drafting its Interim Afghanistan National Development Strategy and advised UNAMA on the drafting and negotiation of the Afghanistan Compact.

Dr. Rubin is writing a book about Afghanistan since September 11.  Drawing on his personal experience as a UN official during the Bonn negotiations, as well as his participation in subsequent developments in Afghanistan, he will analyze the progress made toward helping Afghans build a stable and accountable state.  The book will draw on CIC's previous work on security, counter-narcotics, governance, aid and development in Afghanistan, as well as on the general findings of CIC's projects on aid, peacebuilding as statebuilding, and regional conflict formations.

Activities

• ARP has monitored aid to Afghanistan since 2002 and developed a matrix for aid tracking by donor, sector, and status of funds. ARP's model assisted in the design of the official tracking mechanism, a joint effort of UNDP and AACA.
• ARP has prepared papers and policy recommendations on all aspects of the reconstruction effort.
• ARP staff have conducted field research in Kabul, Qandahar, Herat, Jalalabad, and Bamiyan on center-periphery relations and other issues.
• CIC held conferences in Geneva, Istanbul, and London on legal issues, regional peace-building and urban planning.
• In an ongoing effort to educate both policy makers and the public, ARP has addressed a variety of groups including the UN General Assembly, key UN ambassadors and staff, members of UNFPA, UNIFEM, UNAMA, the State Department, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the House International Relations Committee, the UK FCO, and many NGOs and universities. ARP staff members contribute to the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, CNN, ABC News, CBS News 60 Minutes, the BBC, Voice of America, National Public Radio, and elsewhere.
• ARP maintains a listserv with over 400 subscribers, to whom it distributes key documents, news reports, research, and other materials on a daily basis. These subscribers are around the world, many of them inside Afghanistan.