LISD convened the colloquium, “Security Building in Afghanistan and the Region” in Bonn, Germany, May 23-26, 2003 in cooperation with the Center for Development Research at the University of Bonn. Funding for the conference was provided in part by a project grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

This conference on security in Afghanistan and the region investigated the political and security issues affecting Afghanistan and countries in the South and Central Asia region. Special attention was paid to the needs, objectives, and perceptions of regional and central authorities, as well as the level of required or expected assistance from the international community. There was again a direct video conference link to Kabul to facilitate in-depth discussion with Afghan experts there.

The conference focused on four specific dimensions: internal security and law and order; the issue of external borders; external security; and regional security. Of particular interest was defense and decentralization, the local and regional “security conundrum,” warlordism, Afghanistan’s border concerns, the influence of neighboring states, and the development of new structural arrangements to meet current and emerging security challenges.

The conference was private, off-the-record, and by invitation only, in order to facilitate open and meaningful discussion.