Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 08/2010

Norway's political test in Faryab, Afghanistan: how to lead?

Ståle Ulriksen

July 2010

Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre

Abstract

Norway's five-year experience as the lead nation of the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Meymaneh in Faryab province, north-west Afghanistan, has been marked by an increased level of violence. This violence is often attributed to the greater strength of the Taliban insurgency. But a close analysis suggests that it has other causes. They include traditional local feuds, struggles between different power structures, and competition over drug trafficking.