ABSTRACT
Development is taking place in increasingly complex post-conflict environments, and despite the challenges involved, ambitions have soared rather than waned. The interventions are driven by a broad peace-building agenda and involve a wide range of activities in the fields of security, diplomacy, governance and development – all at once. Underlying these ambitions is the belief that multi-party democracy and a free market economy are the surest route to stability, and the assumption that outside intervention can bring this about (despite a body of research suggesting that this may not be that simple). 1 Afghanistan provides a case study of the complexity of such an endeavour and raises poignant questions about both its assumptions and the way it is being attempted.
