Introduction

States are crucial not only for the security and prosperity of those who live under their jurisdiction but also for global security. Thirty six countries, home to more than a billion people, are fragile. ¹ These states have weak institutions and capacity, and are vulnerable to conflict, or are failing or at the risk of failing to carry out the basic functions of the state. They are perceived to be the actual or potential ground for disease pandemics and mass migration or offer safe haven for terrorist groups, drugs and human trafficking. Often these so-called fragile states lack adequate revenue or fail to mobilize it to rebuild state institutions and provide services to their citizens. Thus, foreign aid plays a crucial role in the process of state building in situations of fragility, and understanding the effects of aid in fragile contexts has become increasingly urgent. Unprecedented attempts at state building and the substantial flow of aid in post-9/11 Afghanistan, with its dynamic history of state formation, makes an in-depth study of Afghanistan crucial for understanding the effects of aid on state building in fragile situations.