Security Perceptions and ISAF’s Legitimacy in Afghanistan

Abstract:

Does the perceived provision of security affect the empirical legitimacy attributed to ISAF in Afghanistan, and vice versa? By asking this question, the paper generates new insight on the relationship between effective and legitimate governance for Afghanistan as an area of limited statehood. The study applies multilevel analysis to an empirical foundation of newly assembled survey data from Northeast Afghanistan for 2009–2013. It thereby contributes evidence to a debate where empirical results remain scant and sheds light on several open questions. People who attributed their security to ISAF were more likely to view ISAF as legitimate. Afghans who viewed ISAF as legitimate were also more likely to feel secure. Nevertheless, the results partly challenge established assumptions on the relationship between effective and legitimate governance. Additionally, factors such as respondents’ liberal values and foreign aid deserve attention when analyzing ISAF’s legitimacy and security perceptions in Afghanistan.

 

Speaker Bio:

Eric Stollenwerk is a Pre-doctoral Fellow at the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law. He is also a Research Associate at the Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 700: Governance in Areas of Limited Statehood at Free University Berlin. His work concentrates on questions of effective and legitimate governance in areas of limited statehood with a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa and Afghanistan. Combining quantitative survey research with qualitative field research, his work analyses the interplay between governance actors’ legitimacy, state capacity and governance effectiveness. His research is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). With a B.A. in Political Science and German Literature from Georg-August-University Göttingen and an M.A. in Political Science from Free University Berlin, his PhD in Political Science from Free University Berlin is expected in 2017. Further, Eric is the Managing Director of the Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 700: Governance in Areas of Limited Statehood at Free University Berlin and a Research Associate at the Berlin Graduate School for Transnational Studies (BTS). Practical experiences include consulting for the German Federal Foreign Office and several NGOs.