Coordination of International Assistance to Justice Reforms in Afghanistan

Abstract

The authors analyse the coordination of international assistance to justice reforms in Afghanistan based on their experience as German government and civil society actors. Such coordination must take place at two levels. First, close collaboration with the partner country’s government is essential. Second, coordination with other international actors is necessary to maximize efficiency. In practice, however, coordination at both levels presents significant challenges, which become more pronounced when local government capacity is low and multiple international actors seek to contribute to rule of law development. Afghanistan was and remains a particularly difficult case. This paper analyses the coordination efforts of various actors and explores the reasons for their failure between 2002 and 2014. It concludes with insights on how legal cooperation coordination can be improved.