Columbia International Affairs Online: Working Papers

CIAO DATE: 05/2010

The Politics of the Comprehensive Approach: The Military, Humanitarian and State-building Discourses in Afghanistan

Karsten Friis

March 2010

Norwegian Institute of International Affairs

Abstract

Over the last years there has been an increasingly vocal call for improved coherence and coordination among the international community engaged in Afghanistan. Facing a surge in violence, limited developmental and economical progress and a corrupt and inept domestic political leadership, it is assumed that better coordination among the international actors will address many, if not all, these challenges.