Afghanistan’s Ill-fated National Strategy for Countering Violent Extremism

In late 2015, the Afghan government’s Office of National Security Council was tasked with leading the development and implementation of a National Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Strategy; a decision rooted in both domestic and international developments. Based on personal observations from Arian Sharifi as Chair of the National CVE Committee and the penholder of the draft CVE Strategy, this essay provides an overview of the strategy, including its development process, in the hope that some of its main principles could one day be implemented in Afghanistan, and/or serve as a blueprint for other countries in the region.