Situating Workable Response continues....

As argued in Chapter 6, not much exploration has been conducted by

the international community as to how institution-building and political transitions are undermined by the lack of social and economic

foundations. While establishing a stable government at the centre is

important, enough attention should be paid to the local political and

social milieu. In this context it is important to address the local

perspectives and the underlying causes of problems for a long-term

viability of the UN peace-building project. One can argue that failing to

provide solutions to the root causes of the problems that generate the war

allows new conflict dynamics to undermine peace. Combining analysis of

Afghan opinions with broader contextual interpretations, this chapter

attempts to understand the complex nuances of the peace-building

process in progress. It cannot be assumed, as is often done as a fallacy that

peace building process ends with the establishment of a new government

along with an economic recovery package.

An analysis of the progress and

pitfalls in contemporary Afghanistan is made on the theoretical paradigm

of “peace-building’. The discussion revolves around certain important

aspects of peace-building like security and demilitarization, political

transition, the concept of democracy, public perception of state

institutions, economic recovery, social rehabilitation and empowerment.

By way of conclusion it tells that a symptomatic peace building process,

unrelated to the nuances of the Afghan society will fail to provide a lasting

solution to the causes of the conflict.

To be continued...