Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Afghanistan: An Innovative Instrument of International Crisis Management Being Put to the Test

摘要

Since the beginning of the US-led intervention in Afghanistan and the fall of the Taleban-regime in Kabul, the international community has focused on the implementation of security, the political transformation and the economic (re-)construction of the country. Through resolutions of the UN Security Council, civil and military Stability/Reconstruction (S/R) operations have been set up to provide assistance to the weak Afghan government. The efforts of ICM in Afghanistan have led to a surge in civilian activities provided by the armed forces and have caused an increased debate on the legitimacy , principles, range and rules of civil-military interaction. The international engagement in Afghanistan is shaped by the UN light footprint strategy developed by Lakhdar Brahimi. To avoid the international soldiers being regarded as an occupying force by the Afghan population, as happened during the Soviet occupation; only a small number of lightly armed troops are employed. PRTs are a result of this new strategy and have contributed to the further development of Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC). Away from the lynchpin Kabul, the PRT mission is to support the Afghan government in its efforts to increase its power and influence in the remote regions of the country. Considering the lack of resources characterizing the troop engagement of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), S/R activities using minimal troop contributions and managed by PRTs have increased their respective numbers amazingly fast. PRTs usually consist of 50 to 500 military personnel and civilian experts each and are in charge of provinces, like Badakhshan or Herat, which often encompass more than 40,000 square kilometres. For western democracies, PRTs have developed into an attractive instrument of state building and are considered an instrument for ICM to develop a nationwide administration and to help accelerate Afghanistan's transition to self- reliance.