Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Afghanistan: A Model for Future Nation Building Operations

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Since the end of Cold War in 1989, international crisis and conflict management have gained considerable importance. Worldwide soldiers have served together with civilian agencies in order to guarantee security, to develop economy, and to facilitate good governance. In Afghanistan, the experience of Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT) raises the question of whether they might be a model for a new concept to deal with future security challenges in a "whole-of-government" approach. Using Afghanistan as a model, this monograph provides general information on the PRT model, its history and development and then compares the US, UK, and German execution of their PRTs in theater. The author compares several nation-building operations since 1945, the number of troops involved and operational duration, against the experience in Afghanistan. Further on, the author focuses on the following aspects: NATO has chosen to address the PRT concept as an innovative approach to building peace and security. It views itself as the organization to design a new strategy in nation building and as the forum to bring together governmental and nongovernmental players in an early stage of the crisis and conflict management. This view raises the question of whether this approach could lead the way towards a "Joint Transatlantic Nation-Building Task-Force".