As international attention focuses on the rebuilding of Afghanistan, this collection looks critically at the evolution and meaning of the core concepts underpinning aims and strategies for recovery: the key role of institutional development and capacity building in establishing good governance, based on collaboration between state, civil society and market; the empirical consensus, over many decades, for best practice in development; the acknowledgement that recovery of war-torn societies is a development challenge. It is also shown that, despite this understanding, operational practice continues to contradict these principles and lessons learned from proven experience.

As international attention focuses on the rebuilding of Afghanistan, this collection looks critically at the evolution and meaning of the core concepts underpinning aims and strategies for recovery: the key role of institutional development and capacity building in establishing good governance, based on collaboration between state, civil society and market; the empirical consensus, over many decades, for best practice in development; the acknowledgement that recovery of war-torn societies is a development challenge. It is also shown that, despite this understanding, operational practice continues to contradict these principles and lessons learned from proven experience.