Lrn Lstn: Afg from Afg POV

1.5 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

Afghanistan represents the west’s biggest, longest, and most complicated military, diplomatic and development conflict state investment in the 21st century. And yet it failed. Analysts, veterans, former army commanders and even novelists have written extensively about the problems of the west’s approach to Afghanistan, but to date not enough has been heard from the Afghan official and civil reformers on what they themselves were trying to achieve. This seminar takes advantage of the presence of many Afghans who until recently were participants in the Afghan government or civil society movements to hear from the inside what they were attempting to do. How did they assess the landscape of possibilities and what enabled or blocked progress? What is different from an insider’s perspective versus what international partners think needs to be done? What lessons can be drawn from the Afghan’s experience of international development and diplomacy that would change future efforts elsewhere? And can we find ways to hear from ordinary citizens how these policy debates played themselves out in their lives? Students will be encouraged to probe, challenge, and understand Afghanistan from an Afghan’s point of view. Each session will tackle a major theme from the reform effort – fighting corruption, addressing human rights, negotiating with neighbors, political participation, etc – from the perspective of one or more Afghan reformers who had been inside the system. The goal of the seminar is less to run an alternative “it could have been different” version of history, than to provide students with a unique chance to hear from the participants inside the system who were trying to effect change.