LISD held the colloquium “Building an Effective and Viable State in Afghanistan," March 13-16, 2003 in Triesenberg, Liechtenstein. This conference was the eighth conference in the Liechtenstein Colloquium on European and International Affairs series, held under the auspices of LISD and the Princely House of Liechtenstein. Funding for the conference was provided in part by a project grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

This conference focused on how to structure the future Afghan state in order to increase its stability and viability. Analysis focused on the political history of Afghanistan, the main issues and lessons in building viable and democratic state systems, and lessons from international case studies of effective state systems. In particular, the discussions focused on best practices in designing effective electoral system, structuring center-regional relations which consider regional power centers, ethnic groups, and traditional Afghan society, and building strong and efficient states. Lessons from international studies and their applicability to Afghanistan were a main focus of the discussions. 

Following the traditional rules of the Liechtenstein Colloquium series, the conference was private, off-the-record, and by invitation only, in order to facilitate open and meaningful discussion.