Initiatives to foster an Afghan peace process, 2001–12: a role for Norway?

The report analyzes the failure of early political inclusion in Afghanistan, the limited impact of amnesty programs, and the constraints on Norway's role as a peace facilitator due to its military commitments to NATO and the U.S.

• The post-2001 political settlement in Afghanistan effectively cemented a 'victors’ peace' by granting amnesties to government associates for pre-2001 crimes while excluding insurgents from the process.
• Genuine political negotiations with the Taliban were effectively blocked by U.S.-imposed 'red lines'—such as requirements to lay down arms and accept the constitution—until these were abandoned in early 2011.
• Amnesty and reintegration programs, including the Programme Takhim e Solh (PTS) and the Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration Programme (APRP), had modest impact due to design weaknesses and disagreements over whether they were military tools or genuine political channels.
• Norway's ability to act as an independent peace facilitator in Afghanistan was limited by its commitment to NATO and its alignment with U.S. military objectives in the 'war on terror'.

APA

Harpviken, K. B. (2013). Initiatives to foster an Afghan peace process, 2001–12: a role for Norway? Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/26340c00-eb2e-4ab1-a917-92555719ee0c/Initiatives to Foster an Afghan Peace Process 2001-12 A Role for Norway.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Harpviken, Kristian Berg. Initiatives to foster an Afghan peace process, 2001–12: a role for Norway? Peace Research Institute Oslo, 2013. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/26340c00-eb2e-4ab1-a917-92555719ee0c/Initiatives to Foster an Afghan Peace Process 2001-12 A Role for Norway.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Harpviken |first1=Kristian Berg |title=Initiatives to foster an Afghan peace process, 2001–12: a role for Norway? |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |date=January 2013 |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/26340c00-eb2e-4ab1-a917-92555719ee0c/Initiatives to Foster an Afghan Peace Process 2001-12 A Role for Norway.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{harpviken2013initiatives, author = {Harpviken, Kristian Berg}, title = {{Initiatives to foster an Afghan peace process, 2001–12: a role for Norway?}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2013}, month = jan, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/26340c00-eb2e-4ab1-a917-92555719ee0c/Initiatives to Foster an Afghan Peace Process 2001-12 A Role for Norway.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }