Books, Bullets, and Burqas

This is the most recent and comprehensive analysis of the Afghan education system against the backdrop of the social and political terrain, covering all relevant related issues such as, i.a. the status of Afghan women and girls, the rejection of central authority by ethnic-tribal groups, the fundamental contradiction between an externally funded rentier state and state sovereignty, intricacies and limitations of capacity building including the competition between humanitarian aid agencies and state authorities. The author argues in favor of customized development solutions instead of a centrally driven one-size-fits-all approach and provides reasons why a military "solution" to the current development crisis is all but impossible.

Craig C. Naumann studied Political Science, Sociology, and Social Anthropology at the Free University of Berlin/Germany, the Université Paul Cézanne Aix-Marseille III/France, the Université de St. Louis/Sénégal, and the University of Münster/Germany.

He spent more than 5 years (2002 - 2007) in Afghanistan dealing with educational applied research and policy issues. He combines his own experience with thorough studies of the past to characterize the overall social and political situation.