Lessons Learned from Stabilization Initiatives in Afghanistan: A Systematic Review of Existing Research

Evidence on aid (in)effectiveness in highly fragile states: A synthesis of three systematic reviews of aid to Afghanistan, Mali, and South Sudan, 2008–21

“…This is a blow to the international community, which over the last two decades has spent billions of aid money in highly insecure regions in the hope that it would lead to less violence and more stability. A recent wave of academic work on the impact of aid on violence has now amassed convincing empirical evidence that this hope is futile, and our results from Afghanistan, South Sudan, and Mali confirm this (Findley 2018;Iyengar Plumb et al 2017;SIGAR 2018;Zürcher 2017Zürcher , 2020. Aid might even increase violence, when injected into highly insecure regions where violence is a reality and insurgents still retain some capacity.…”

Predictors of Economic Outlook in Stability Operations

“…The interactions between the security forces and the population reinforce the perception of safety and enable a better understanding between the counterinsurgent and the population (Joint Chiefs of Staff, 2018). But, the literature also shows security forces could serve to both reduce or incite violence as their presence can invite insurgent attacks (Iyengar, Shapiro, & Hegarty, 2017). Though not included in this study, data on actual events of violence should be analyzed with the survey data to determine any confounding effects.…”