Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 10/2010

Many Shuras Do Not a Government Make: International Community Engagement with Local Councils in Afghanistan

Shahmahmood Miakhel, Noah Coburn

September 2010

United States Institute of Peace

Abstract

The need to engage local Afghan leaders and support community decision making has recently been promoted as a key element of both development and counterinsurgency strategies in Afghanistan. This Peace Brief supports the attempts to create a coherent long-term goal of local governance based on legitimate local actors, most likely selected through elections.