Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit Synthesis Paper Series Subnational State-Building in Afghanistan Hamish Nixon April 2008 Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit Synthesis Paper Series Subnational State-Building in Afghanistan Hamish Nixon April 2008 © 2008 Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the publisher, the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit. Permission can be obtained by emailing
[email protected] or by calling +93 799 608 548. About the Author At the time of writing, Hamish Nixon was the Governance Researcher at AREU. Before joining AREU in March 2005 he held academic appointments at Kingston University and The Queen’s College, Uni- versity of Oxford. He completed his Ph.D. on comparative peace processes and postconflict political development at St. Antony’s College, Oxford. He has worked on postconflict governance and elec- tions in Afghanistan, the Balkans, the Palestinian Territories, El Salvador and Cambodia. He has published articles and chapters on citizen security, state-building and democratisation, subnational governance, and aid effectiveness. He is currently Subnational Governance Specialist with the World Bank in Kabul. About the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) The Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) is an independent research organisation based in Kabul. AREU’s mission is to conduct high-quality research that informs and influences policy and practice. AREU also actively promotes a culture of research and learning by strengthening analytical capacity in Afghanistan and facilitating reflection and debate.