Evaluation of the 20 years of usa presence in Afghanistan (2001-2021)

The 20-year presence of the United States in Afghanistan has significantly affected the socio-economic and political structure of the country for a period extending from 2001 to 2021. This thesis provides a detailed evaluation of the US presence in Afghanistan and comprehensively examines the effects of this intervention on Afghanistan's state-building process, local governments and various dynamics of society. While the US intervention, which started in 2001, initially aimed to combat terrorism, it evolved over time into wide-ranging goals such as state building and the effective use of international aid. The situation in Afghanistan in 2001 bears deep traces of the destruction caused by armed conflicts that lasted more than 20 years. The destruction of traditional livelihoods and the fact that economic activities are largely based on opium production and cross-border smuggling have deeply affected the socio-economic structure of the country. In Afghanistan, which has a regionally fragmented structure, warlords have become the sole dominant power in most regions. In order for a state-building strategy to be successful under these challenging conditions, it must aim for a deep and comprehensive transformation. The research states that the US's policies and strategies in Afghanistan were generally criticized by the international community and failed to produce the expected results. It is emphasized that the US's efforts to establish new administrative institutions could not fully adapt to the ethnic and demographic structure of Afghanistan, local conditions were ignored, and this led to the failure of the state-building process. Additionally, US policies in Afghanistan reveal the shortcomings of the West's foreign policy approaches and international development aid policies. State-building strategies have been criticized based on the reactions and resistance of local actors and their impact on international policies.