In Kabul on October 27, The Asia Foundation released the results of its fifth survey of Afghan public opinion. Afghanistan in 2009: A Survey of the Afghan People, conducted nationwide throughout the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, is a comprehensive, first-hand assessment of public perception on a wide range of major policy issues vital to the daily lives of Afghans. In-person interviews with 6,406 respondents took place between June 17 and July 6, prior to the national elections, and were administered by Afghan survey teams totaling 648 men and women. Covering everything from security, the economy, and governance to democratic values and the status of women, the survey provides a striking snapshot of public opinion that not only offers crucial data but also valuable insights about the problems Afghans face and the direction in which their country is moving.

The presentation, pictured below, was given in English, Dari, and Pashto by the Foundation’s deputy country representative in Afghanistan, Michael Haines, and senior program officers Fazel Rabi Haqbeen and Fazel Rabi Wardak.

At The Asia Foundation press conference in Kabul, from left to right: Senior Program Officer Fazel Rabi Haqbeen, Senior Program Officer Fazel Rabi Wardak, Deputy Country Representative Michael Haines, and an interpreter.

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The Asia Foundation’s George Varughese discusses the complexities of life in Afghanistan in a video, punctuating his commentary with highlights from Afghanistan in 2009: A Survey of the Afghan People.

More Afghans think their nation is headed in the right direction this year than was the case in 2008, according to the latest “Survey of the Afghan People” conducted by the Asia Foundation. In light of Afghanistan’s lingering problems, this sense of public optimism is both surprising and encouraging, writes Theodore Eliot, a former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan who is on the board of trustees of The Asia Foundation. Mr. Eliot examines the implications of The Asia Foundation survey in an October 27 op-ed article in the Press Democrat newspaper.

By Zubair Bhatti

With the end of the four-year term of the second cohort of elected local government leadership in mid-October, the rancorous public debate over the future of Pakistan’s famous Devolution Plan has moved, like much else in the country, to the superior courts. Supporters argue that elected local representatives must continue to exercise powers until new elections are held. Opponents want empowered provincial governments to legislate, a step that may include a complete roll-back of the plan.
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By Nina Merchant

Photo: Rita Banerji, Flickr

As a student of economics and a development practitioner, I had always assumed that economic development, measured by rising per capita incomes, implied greater gender equality. I had made this assumption because, as Figure 1 below illustrates, there is a strong positive linear relationship between per capita country GDP and the Status of Women, as measured by the Gender-Related Development Index constructed by the United Nations to evaluate the achievement of women in terms of life expectancy, education, and access to income.

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On October 23, Douglas Bereuter, President and CEO of The Asia Foundation, delivered the keynote address at a conference hosted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs in Chicago, Illinois. Titled “Implications of the Financial Crisis on American, Chinese, South Korean, and Japanese Soft Power in East Asia,” the October 22-24 conference discussed the effects of the financial crisis on the U.S. and key Asian countries.

By Michael Haines, Ruth Rennie, Sudhindra Sharma, and Pawan Sen

2009 has been a formative year for the people of Afghanistan. In the 12 months since The Asia Foundation conducted its last survey of Afghan public opinion in 2008, the domestic and international landscape has shifted considerably, heralding renewed emphasis on this nation determined to find its path forward in the post-Taliban era.

Defined by presidential and provincial council elections and an uptick in insurgent activity, these shifts have delivered both noted accomplishment and tragedy in 2009. Despite modest improvements in basic infrastructure, public services, education, and health, civilian and military casualties have reached unsettling levels. Add natural disasters, inclement weather conditions, and a renewed anti-insurgency campaign in Pakistan to the dynamic and conditions are considerably difficult for the average Afghan.

These challenging surroundings notwithstanding, The Asia Foundation’s office in Kabul successfully conducted its fifth nationwide assessment of Afghan public opinion and released those findings today at 8:30 am in Kabul.

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At 8:30 a.m. in Kabul (12 a.m. Eastern Standard Time) on Tuesday, October 27, The Asia Foundation will release findings from its most recent public opinion poll of the Afghan people, which covers all 34 of Afghanistan’s provinces. Afghanistan in 2009: A Survey of the Afghan People is the fifth such poll conducted by the Foundation, which released previous polls in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Collectively, the five surveys establish an accurate, long-term barometer of public opinion across Afghanistan to help assess the direction in which the country is moving.
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On Tuesday, October 27, The Asia Foundation will release findings from its fifth public opinion poll in Afghanistan, Afghanistan in 2009: A Survey of the Afghan People, conducted in all 34 provinces, at an event in Washington, D.C. This barometer of national public opinion helps inform the Afghanistan policy debate and donors, and provides critical information assessing how Afghans view developments in their own country.

Hosted by The Asia Foundation in cooperation with The United States Institute of Peace, Mr. Sunil Pillai, Technical Advisor & Program Officer, and Mr. Zoran Milovic, Deputy Country Representative for The Asia Foundation in Kabul, will discuss key findings of the survey. The discussion will be moderated by J. Alexander Thier, Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan, United States Institute of Peace.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009
9:00-11:30 a.m.
Washington, D.C.
Please RSVP to Jill O’Donnell at jodonnell@asiafound-dc.org or at (202) 588-9420.

By Matthew Pendergast and Jon Jamieson

A group of local villagers crowded around us, some offering suggestions and some just watching the delightful spectacle of a group of foreigners lugging boxes of books. A local colleague who had driven us patiently over rugged, unmarked, rarely-traveled roads, peered at the map on the wall of the school as he tried to find the village of Morwakee – where, unbeknownst to us, we now stood after a three-hour drive from the closest city through wide forest trails thick with mud from the heavy rains.

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