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More generally, the slow shift in Europe and elsewhere from territorial defence to a growing role in expeditionary operations, often conducted to build host-nation capabilities, stabilize war-torn countries, and consolidate peace, suggests a role in precisely these activities. In terms of profile, many states, particularly in the West, view themselves as active contributors to ‘international peace and security’ and will resist downgrading these ambitions entirely. Yet for several reasons, passivity over the long term will be difficult to sustain. It may be that the campaign in central Asia engenders an ‘Afghanistan Syndrome’, whereby future involvement in stabilization and reconstruction, never mind counterinsurgency, is purposefully avoided. It then concludes by discussing what these requirements mean for those states that express interest in peace-building, but whose commitment and capabilities are often found lacking.Īs national contributions to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan decline, and the operation draws down, the contributing states will face the new task of recalibrating their role in peace-building, now in the aftermath of an operation gone awry and that no one wants to see repeated. Dissecting the peace-building principles in light of more recent experiences with counterinsurgency, the article explores the full requirements for effective intervention in war-to-peace transitions. Such a tendency, this article argues, is based on a flawed historical understanding of the experiences of the 1990s and underestimates what it takes to build peace after war. Instead, to avoid manage the complexity of future interventions, intervening government may be tempted to reinvoke the traditional peace-building principles drawn from the 1990s – neutrality, consent-based operations, and the minimum use of force. Engagement in various forms of peace-building has increased dramatically since the Cold War, yet what is the future of peace-building in the aftermath of the troubled intervention in Afghanistan? This article argues that while many Western and allied governments will feel chastened by the experience in Central Asia, their impulse to ‘do good’ internationally will not altogether disappear.
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