| The War in Afghanistan is the longest war in American history, and despite prolonged efforts, the country remains unstable and dangerous. It is assumed that the expenditure of effort by coalition forces is increasing for fragile tactical and strategic gains, yet little evidence has been generated to support this assumption. The research problem addressed in this study was the presumption that a growing portion of the Afghan population do not believe in the international coalition's strategy to stabilize the country. The primary research question concerned the Afghan population's perceptions of the coalition's strategy to stabilize the country, and whether that strategy was seen as a positive or negative influence towards conflict resolution and support of democratic governance. This study used a qualitative design with a case study methodology to gain insight into the Afghan population's perceptions of stability. Data were collected from 250 published sources that provided more than 27,491 indicators; these data were then coded and analyzed using the case-for-change theoretical model. Results suggested that: (1) the international coalition's strategy is a negative influence on Afghan social perceptions on stability, (2) the coalition's strategy is a positive influence on conflict resolution, (3) culture has an impact on social perceptions, and (4) no findings indicate the Afghan people favored democratic values over traditional values. This study provided recommendations on American policy and strategy in Afghanistan that could inform the efforts of the Afghan people in their work toward stability and enduring social change. |
