“In light of their views on the organization of society and political economy, Westerners, especially Americans, can be separated into two basic groups. One camp believes in the necessity, and the virtue, of government. People in this category tend to… — Sarah Chayes Copy Share Image
“In the end, none of our election recommendations was implemented. Afterward I asked ISAF’s intelligence chief, General Michael Flynn—among the most sympathetic officers to the anticorruption agenda—if any surveillance satellites had been assigned to monitor turnout. He seemed startled, as though we had never discussed the idea. Oh no, came his answer. They were too busy tracking insurgents.” — Sarah Chayes Copy Share
Corruption is a fact of life in America as in Afganistan, but as American citizens, if we are white, we tend to experience it as an opportunity cost. I live in Washington, DC, where the city council is notoriously corrupt. But how do I experience that? Maybe in streets that are not as well paved as they could be, maybe… — Sarah Chayes Copy Share
“In other words, development resources passed through a corrupt system not only reinforced that system by helping to fund it but also inflamed the feelings of injustice that were driving people toward the insurgency. Laboratory experiments over the past several decades have demonstrated humans’ apparently irrational revolt against such unjust bargains. The experiments, known as “ultimatum games,” allocate a sum… — Sarah Chayes Copy Share
“The U.S. civilian leadership was shirking its responsibility to develop a high-level strategic approach to the most significant political and diplomatic challenge of this conflict. It was yet another example of America’s almost instinctive reflex to lead with the military in moments of international crisis. Civilian officials, as much as they may mistrust the Pentagon, are often the first to… — Sarah Chayes Copy Share
“Criticizing the “corrupt, questionable, and unqualified leaders [placed] into key positions,” the argument rested on the principle of command responsibility: “The international community has enabled and encouraged bad governance through agreement and silence, and often active partnership.” Moving the issue away from the humanitarian terrain where it often resides, we made corruption relevant to war fighters by explaining its centrality… — Sarah Chayes Copy Share
“The analysis in this book does not just apply to the extreme cases it has examined, where the whole of government has morphed into… — Sarah Chayes Copy Share Image
“Our questioning—again echoing Ghazali—of the likely impact of development efforts (“prosperity,” in his formula) also flew in the face of received wisdom. For years,… — Sarah Chayes Copy Share Image
“Corruption, it made plain, was not solely a humanitarian affair, an issue touching on principles or values alone. It was a matter of national… — Sarah Chayes Copy Share Image
I know it sounds old-fashioned to say we're too materialistic in the West, but happiness does not derive exclusively from things, and yet we… — Sarah Chayes Copy Share Image
“His brother Najib owned an auto-parts store at bustling Shikarpur Gate, the mouth of the narrow road linking their village to the city—an ancient… — Sarah Chayes Copy Share Image
“In light of their views on the organization of society and political economy, Westerners, especially Americans, can be separated into two basic groups. One… — Sarah Chayes Copy Share Image
“Corruption is usually classified as a humanitarian aid problem, to be handled by donor agencies, not mainstreamed into overall foreign and defense policy. And… — Sarah Chayes Copy Share Image
