The State-Building and Rule of Law Workshop focuses on the connections between the rule of law, legal institutions, and development of legal education in Afghanistan and offers the opportunity to design rule of law projects for other countries at a state-building stage of development. The set of countries within the scope of consideration in this workshop includes states engaged in post-conflict reconstruction (e.g., Cambodia, Timor Leste, Sierra Leone), states still in conflict (e.g., Afghanistan, Somalia), the poorest states of the world that may not fall neatly into the categories of conflict or post-conflict (e.g., Nepal, Haiti), or are not marked by high levels of violent conflict at all (e.g., Bhutan). The workshop situates rule of law programs conceptually and practically with the imperative to build durable formal and informal institutions, including legal institutions, which have legitimacy and capacity and can ensure security. The workshop also critically assesses the prospects for effective international assistance in building the rule of law in these contexts.
During the first half of the semester, students review the relevant general literature on law and development in developing countries. Students write analytic reflection papers and prepare presentations on selected topics based on the literature reviewed. During the second half of the semester, students pursue two tracks. One group of students begin to develop a continuing legal education curriculum to be taught at the American University of Afghanistan. SLS students will develop a text, supplementary materials, and teaching guide for the class. Another group of students develop rule of law projects for other countries within the scope of the workshop or write analytical problem oriented papers about the challenges to building the rule of law in one or more of these countries.