ABSTRACT
One of this book’s two Japanese aid specialists to have worked on Afghanistan, Seiji Utsumi provides a detailed personal account of his work on educational issues after the fall of the Taliban. Facing the country’s intense poverty as well as the physical consequences of decades of war, Utsumi describes how he participated in Japanese government efforts to work effectively with other aid donors on a variety of issues, with education seen as a key element of the coordinated transnational initiatives. In his analysis, the political bargains among aid donors as well as with the host government have shaped a complex environment for improving the lot of Afghanistan’s children, and he draws from the experience both specific comments about the path of Afghanistan’s troubled reconstruction as well as potential lessons for future post-conflict collaboration among development assistance officials.
