After the Taliban

Neamatollah Nojumi is senior research fellow at the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution of the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University. Dyan Mazurana is associate professor and research director at the Feinstein International Center at Tufts University. Elizabeth Stites is senior researcher at the Feinstein International Center at Tufts University.

To access the maps mentioned in this book, Click Here.Despite the fall of the Taliban, Afghanistan remains a country in dire need of strong international support. Only with an understanding of the conditions in both urban and rural areas will the international community be able to offer aid and remain committed to long-term development.This fascinating and clearly written book mines a rich and unique array of data, which was collected in rural areas of Afghanistan by an expert team of researchers, to analyze countrywide trends in the relationship between human security and livelihoods. The team's research and recommendations, published here for the first time, suggest that international assistance or national development strategies that ignore the long-term developmental and structural goals and sideline the moderate elements of Afghan society will be doomed to failure.The authors' deeply informed policy recommendations will help to focus further action on vital issues such as co-optation of aid by armed political groups; water scarcity; contamination and degradation of the environment; education; health care; agriculture, livestock, and land health; and justice. A valuable resource for students, policymakers, donor governments, and national and international organizations, After the Taliban opens a rare window into the otherwise hidden lives of the people of rural Afghanistan.

IntroductionChapter 1: Provincial Background and OverviewPart I: Rural Afghans and Human SecurityChapter 2: Physical SecurityChapter 3: Social IssuesChapter 4: Women's RightsChapter 5: Family and Sexual SystemsChapter 6: PeaceChapter 7: Part I Concluding Thoughts: Seeking SecurityPart II: Rural Afghans and LivelihoodsChapter 8: Livelihoods and Natural Resources of Rural AfghansChapter 9: Rural Livelihoods, Labor, and IncomeChapter 10: International AssistanceChapter 11: Part II Concluding Thoughts: Linking Human Security and LivelihoodsPart III: Rural Afghans and Systems of Justice: Formal, Traditional, and CustomaryChapter 12: Formal Justice SystemsChapter 13: Traditional and Customary Systems of JusticeChapter 14: Part III Concluding Thoughts: Strengthening Justice and Rule of Law SystemsChapter 15: Moving Towards Human SecurityAfterword