The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2008

F O C U S Commission and the Judicial Reform Commission are highly politicized and ineffective; and education, a critical need in a society that has seen two generations come of age without schooling, is limited by Taliban targeting of governmental education efforts. Afghans tell pollsters that an absence of security is their greatest concern, with endemic corruption another chronic and debilitating reality. They are keenly aware that no senior official has been prosecuted for corrup- tion. International funding for development is frequent- ly misdirected. The failure to establish justice not only effectively confers impunity for past crimes; it also leaves the population vulnerable to future abuses, often by the same perpetrators. The inability of Afghan officials to develop effective governance structures at the national and local levels, despite international advice and support, is often per- ceived as an endemic failure reflecting Afghans’ alleged incapacity to sustain self-government. However, that perspective ignores the nation’s long history as a self-gov- erning entity that was, over much of the 20th century, one of the Islamic world’s more progressive, successful states. In particular, the reign of King Zahir Shah (1933- 1973) was a time of relative peace, economic growth and limited democracy that included a significant place for women to have professional roles in politics, education and commerce. This relatively successful and peaceful period was remarkable in several respects. For much of the post- World War II period, U.S. and Soviet competition for influence in Afghanistan was intense and could have been destabilizing. But rather than suffering the Cold 26 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J U LY- A U G U S T 2 0 0 8