Hybrid Peace Ownership in Afghanistan: International Perspectives of Who Owns What and When
Jarstad, Anna K and Louise Olsson. 2012. Global Governance 18, no. 1: 105-119.
This article provides a case study of the international peacebuilding community’s emphasis on “local ownership” and its implementation in Afghanistan. Despite this discourse centered on the importance of local community involvement to ensure that a legitimate and sustainable peace, peacebuilding in Afghanistan has oftentimes taken the form of hybrid peace ownership or an uneasy balance of power between the local and international that is simultaneously symbiotic and destructive. This growing degree of external involvement in all aspects of Afghan political, social, and economic life also raises the question as to whether the gains achieved in the 20-year long peacebuilding effort will be sustainable once all international assistance is removed, an unfortunate reality seen in the collapse of the Afghan government in August of last year.