Description
Book SynopsisDana Burde shows how aid to education in Afghanistan bolstered conflict both deliberately in the 1980s through violence-infused, anti-Soviet curricula and inadvertently in the 2000s through misguided stabilization programs
Trade ReviewThis masterly book offers the first comprehensive fieldwork-based research on education in contemporary Afghanistan. Dana Burde makes the convincing case that NGOs have generally been neglecting education and that jihadist programs in the 1980s implied a huge exposure of children to the message of violence and intolerance. Post-2001, Burde points to the general failure of the counterinsurgency strategy to provide adequate support to education. -- Gilles Dorronsoro, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Public education in conflict-ridden societies should be a force for peace and stability, if done well. But Dana Burde shows that international aid to education in Afghanistan sowed conflict when its political goals prioritized jihad against the Soviet occupation or favored some ethnic groups over others. Impeccably researched, this book has global implications for thinking about politics, education policy, and foreign aid. -- Jack Snyder, Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies and Department of Political Science, Columbia University Dana Burde provides rare insights into the potential for Afghanistan's educational system to advance either political violence or peace... [Schools for Conflict or for Peace in Afghanistan] could serve as a foundational text for those who want to understand the issues surrounding education and conflict. -- Paul Clemans H-War Schools for Conflict or for Peace in Afghanistan lays out a detailed history of education in the Afghan context, its importance, and how educational funds can be effectively used to avoid conflict... This book is a welcome contribution to the field of both international and comparative education as well as conflict studies. -- Mujtaba Hedayet Comparative Education Review [Schools for Conflict or for Peace in Afghanistan] provides an excellent overview and diverse analysis of the historical emergence of, and currently existing relationship between, education, peace and conflict within and beyond Afghanistan. South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Time Line: Education in Modern Afghan History
1. Introduction
2. Humanitarian Action and the Neglect of Education
3. Jihad Literacy
4. Education for Stability
5. Education for the World
6. Conclusion: Education as Hope
Notes
References
Index
