Enhancing the European Union's development strategy in Afghanistan

Abstract

The development strategy of the European Union (EU) in Afghanistan suffers from two major defects: inadequate coordination between the EU donors, national and collective, and an overemphasis on short-term projects that do not promote sustainable economic growth. This thesis examines the underlying causes of these defects and analyzes two methods that might address them. First, it assesses the possible benefits of appointing an EU or United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan "super envoy" to synchronize EU donor activities. Second, it uses a regional development strategy case study called "Nangarhar Inc" to examine techniques that the EU donors could emulate to enable a revised EU strategy to attain its fullest potential. The analysis indicates that an EU "super envoy" might be able to harness the full weight of the EU donors in regional development strategies undertaking large-scale projects beyond the capabilities of most donors in Afghanistan. The thesis concludes that by promoting private-sector-led economic growth through regional strategies, a unified EU strategy might provide sustainable development in Afghanistan that could contribute to a notable reduction in the requirement for international donor intervention in the mid to long term.