Little media attention has been given to the most relevant international intervention case history for Afghanistan. Not East Timor, and certainly not Kosovo, but the peace process in one of Afghanistan’s northern neighbours, the former Soviet Republic of Tajikistan.
Depending on your point of view, under the circumstances the outcome was good: cessation of hostilities, and yes a government, but of a pretty poor sort. Contemporary Tajikistan offers a sad prognosis for Afghanistan. Its human capital continues to be squandered and the government cannot deliver vital social development and infrastructure. Those in power exert themselves on oppression and control.
