Central Asia Policy Brief No. 12, October 2013
By Noah Coburn
While the international community focuses on national-level issues, many of the factors that will determine the future stability of Afghanistan are local.
Many local leaders have supported the Karzai regime because of the resources it has helped bring to communities. As funds decrease, it remains to be seen how these leaders will adapt to a shifting political economy.
If these local figures and their national-level counterparts do not see a reason to continue to support a parasitical, corrupt government, many of the gains of the past decade in Afghanistan could quickly be lost.
