Afghanistan- Afghanistan Transition: The Death of Bin Laden and Local Dynamics (May 2011) - Afghanistan Transition and Kabul University: Winning Minds, Losing Hearts (May 2011) Human Capital- Policy Lab on Entrepreneurship – Abu Dhabi Public Health- Drug Prevention, Treatment and Harm Reduction: Scaling-up of Red Cross-Red Crescent Best Practices Afghanistan ICOS Afghanistan explores the relationships between development, security, governance and counter-narcotics in Afghanistan, formulating innovative and pragmatic policy recommendations to address the complex challenges in these areas. With a research base in Lashkar Gah, the work focus is on the southern provinces at the heart of the conflict. ICOS Afghanistan operates through in-country field research teams assessing the opinions and attitudes of the Afghan people. This field research supports ICOS Afghanistan's policy reports, which seek to identify ways to address the challenges facing Afghanistan, and ensure lasting security and prosperity for the Afghan people. 
Afghanistan Transition: The Death of Bin Laden and Local Dynamics (May 2011) Research regarding the death of Osama Bin Laden, conducted immediately following the event, revealed mixed opinions among Afghan men interviewed. The majority of respondents thought his death was good news, with the most significant pockets of negative opinion present in Kabul University and Marjah district in Helmand. Opinions of those interviewed were split on whether or not his death will signify the end of Al Qaeda, but the majority of respondents believe it will have a negative effect on the Taliban. Transition and Local Dynamics … More
Afghanistan Transition and Kabul University: Winning Minds, Losing Hearts (May 2011) Young Afghans have a vital role to play as the international community begins reducing its military and civilian presence in Afghanistan and students at Kabul University are likely to be at the forefront of their generation and can be key players in a successful and durable transition. There is support for international military operations and for the transition from the students interviewed at Kabul University, but although the interviewees in this important group of young Afghans are aligned with the international community’s political and security … More
Afghanistan Transition: Dangers of a Summer Drawdown (February 2011) This report looks at the current dynamics in Kandahar and Helmand provinces, southern Afghanistan, in the context of the United States’ announced plan to begin drawing down military forces in Afghanistan in five months. The surge of 30,000 additional US forces has changed the security dynamics on the ground significantly, with the additional troops making major gains in clearing districts previously held by the Taliban. The total troops on the ground in Afghanistan have gone from approximately 89,000 NATO- ISAF troops and 215,000 Afghan security … More ICOS Statement before the Public Hearing on the Dutch Police Training Mission (24 January 2011) ICOS gave evidence before the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Netherlands, regarding the upcoming Dutch police training mission. ICOS highlighted that the Netherlands can provide concrete and positive assistance in training a more effective Afghan civilian police force one step at a time. Within the international framework of the Netherland’s commitments to NATO and the European Union, this police training mission can make an important contribution to public security, while keeping the country’s promise to the Afghan people of creating a … More ICOS Presentation at NATO Civil-Military Conference, Norfolk, Virginia (9 December 2010) At a NATO Conference on Civil-Military Interaction in Norfolk, Virginia, ICOS presented the findings of its field research throughout 2010. The presentation assessed how the civil-military approach can benefit from the grassroots perceptions of the Afghan people, in order to identify their priorities and beliefs. Afghanistan’s Security and Development: A grassroots, field-research perspective (PPT)
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Afghanistan Transition: Missing Variables (November 2010) In October 2010 the International Council on Security and Development (ICOS) interviewed 1500 Afghan men in southern and northern Afghanistan. In Helmand and Kandahar, 1000 men were interviewed. In Panjshir and Parwan, 500 men were interviewed. The two clusters of provinces chosen by ICOS reflect very different ethnic and political situations. Panjshir and Parwan are dominated by ethnic Tajiks, and were the stronghold of the anti-Taliban fighter Ahmad Shah Massoud during the civil war of the 1990s. They are now usually regarded as amongst the … More
Afghanistan: The Relationship Gap (July 2010) As the war in Afghanistan enters another summer of increasing violence, the international community is focusing its attention on Kandahar province, the spiritual and political heartland of the Taliban insurgency. At the same time, there is growing pressure for a withdrawal among the public in the member countries of the NATO-ISAF coalition is growing. To assess the attitude of the Afghan people towards key issues, the International Council on Security and Development (ICOS) interviewed 552 Afghan men across Kandahar and Helmand provinces in June 2010. … More 
ICOS has developed an innovative Policy Labs methodology that uses participative techniques to bring together representatives of relevant social groups to identify their shared challenges and find solutions to them. Policy Labs consist of phases of scientific research, data processing, and dynamic group meetings bringing together relevant stakeholders. Through these different phases, a tailored and feasible action plan for the defined area is developed by the Policy Lab participants. 
The ICOS Security and Citizenship programme combines innovative research and policy analysis to promote pragmatic responses to today's most pressing social challenges. 
The Global Food Security Initiative portal has the aim of offering a "one stop shop" for information on food security around the world. This is achieved through the management and organisation of information regarding food security policy and related issues comprehensively in one place. 
The Rome Consensus for a Humanitarian Drug Policy is a framework for dialogue and cooperation that commits 121 National Societies of Red Cross and Red Crescent from Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe to promote and implement humanitarian approaches to drug policy. |
