Paul Fishstein brings a practitioner’s perspective and long-term involvement in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Within a conflict and post-conflict environment, he has managed refugee, humanitarian assistance, and development programs, and conducted and managed research. Since March 2009, Paul has worked on the Center’s study on the relationship between aid and security, and has been conducting research on the effects of Afghanistan’s post-2001 economic policy. As head of Afghanistan’s leading research institution, he oversaw extensive research and policy advocacy and the development of Afghan research capacity. Paul has conducted research on agricultural policies and food security in India and Africa, and provided assistance on financial analysis, organizational development, and sustainability planning to health organizations in developing countries, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Romania, and Tanzania. Paul holds a M.Sc. in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of Maryland at College Park.
Email:Paul.Fishstein@tufts.edu
Reports
This paper by Paul Fishstein and Andrew Wilder presents findings from research conducted by FIC in five provinces of Afghanistan between July 2008 and January 2010 on the relationship between aid projects and security.
This new case study by Paul Fishstein examines the drivers of insecurity, characteristics of aid projects and aid implementers, and effects of aid projects on the popularity of aid actors and on security in an area of Afghanistan which has been among the most peaceful, but which over the last year has seen increasing insecurity. The research confirmed the widespread expressed dissatisfaction with post-2001 development activities, sometimes in contradiction of on-the-ground realities.
Briefing Papers
Research in Uruzgan suggests that insecurity is largely the result of the failure of governance, which has exacerbated traditional tribal rivalries. While respondents within the international military did report some short-term benefits of aid projects in facilitating interaction with and … Read More