Military/Operations other than war; Politics and government/International relations; Terrorism and threats

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Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy [January 12, 2017]

Modern Afghanistan: A History of Struggle and Survival

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Sustainability of U.S. Government Projects in Afghanistan

The United States and its allies are helping Afghanistan emerging from more than 22 years of warfare, although substantial risk to Afghan stability remains. Before the U.S. military campaign against the orthodox Islamist Taliban movement began on October 7, 2001, Afghanistan had been mired in conflict since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The defeat of the Taliban has enabled the United States and its coalition partners to send forces throughout Afghanistan to search for Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters and leaders that remain at large, including Osama bin Laden. As the war against remaining Al Qaeda and Taliban elements winds down, the United States is shifting its military focus toward stabilizing the interim government, including training a new Afghan national army, and supporting the international security force (ISAF) that is helping the new government provide security.

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Afghanistan: Current Issues and U.S. Policy Concerns

: This work applies the diffusion of innovations theory in the analysis of the USG's governance and development efforts in Afghanistan to determine if the key elements of diffusion of innovations are present This study further examines if, when present, these elements correlate with the Afghans' increased adoption of the programs Where the positive elements of diffusion of innovations are found in USG governance and development efforts, those efforts should be more successful Diffusion of innovations is a multi-disciplinary theory conceptualized by Communication Professor, Everett Rogers Diffusion of innovations is widely accepted in academia In the past, scholars used the theory in Cultural Geography, Communication, Anthropology and Rural Sociology, among other disciplines This monograph employs a case study methodology examining USG programs in Afghanistan, their effects on the Afghan people and the Afghan people's use of these programs An important source for this analysis is the Afghanistan Survey 2010, which provides recent survey data of the Afghan's perceptions on a wide range of topics Evidence from the survey and other research suggests Afghans are not fully adopting USG initiatives and programs The findings of this study demonstrate that many of the reasons Afghans do not adopt these programs can be explained by the elements of diffusion of innovations It also demonstrates that the USG has made positive adjustments in doctrine and organization including the formation of Human Terrain Teams (HTTs), Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs), and Agricultural Development Teams (ADTs)

Michael S. Titus

Papers

U.S. Government Initiatives in Afghanistan: An Application of Diffusion of Innovations Theory