The Essential Field Guides to Afghanistan - 4th Edition coming out in 2012 !

Pre-order the 4th edition of the EFG to Afghanistan published in 2012 now

Read an exerpt of the 3rd edition here (PDF format)

The new 4th edition of the Essential Field Guide to Afghanistan, which will be available later this year,  offers an over three-decade perspective on the war, but with particular emphasis on what has happened with international military and recovery approaches since the US-led intervention in October, 2001. This new edition provides an updated assessment of key players, both Afghan and foreign, coupled with the operations of local and international aid organizations, the United Nations, Afghan civil society, private investment and mercenaries.

The current project is supported by the non-profit the Institute for Media and Global Governance (IMGG), which hosts events for professional journalists around the world. It is also a partner with the Geneva Centre for Security Policy,the Atlantic Council (U.S.), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland, and the Embassy of the U.S. in Kabul. Our principal goal remains to promote more well-informed interventions in humanitarian and conflict zones, plus greater and more balanced media coverage through critical information and insights for anyone operating on the ground in areas of international concern.

Editorial lineup 

Previous contributors to the EFG re-enlisted for this 4th edition: The 'British Talib' John Butt on the Taliban, Pakistani journalist and author Ahmed Rashid on the regional Great Game, Kabul-based cultural anthropologist Whitney Azoy, and criminologist Ali Wardak, about the tribal and ethic composition of the Afghan society, Tim Weaver on landmines and IEDs.

And outstanding leading experts on Afghanistan contributed to this 4th edition: Fred Kempe (president and Chief Executive Officer of the Atlantic Council since 2006) on the US military role; Jason Burke (Guardian and Observer South Asia correspondent) on al-Qaeda and the Insurgency; Jean MacKenzie (senior correspondent for GlobalPost in Kabul and former program director for the Institute for War & Peace Reporting) about Afghan media; Michael Keating (current deputy head of mission for the UN in Kabul) and Renata Dwan (Head of UNAMA's Development Coherence Unit) on the developement challenge; Anthony Fitzherbert (agronomist, FAO Programme for Rehabilitation of Afghanistan Agriculture, adviser to the Minister of Rural Reconstruction and Development in Kabul) on the rural challenge; Christina Lamb (author and Sunday Times correspondent) provides a gender perspective to the handbook; Peter Jouvenal (British freelance photographer and cameraman); Joana de Berry (CDD and social development department at the World Bank) ; Graham Flood-Hunt (international security advisor) on security issues; Jolyon Leslie (CEO of The Agha Khan Trust for Culture) on urban recovery and Afghan heritage; Norah Niland (Senior UN Human Rights Advisor) on the state of Human Rights; Emmanuel Tronc (Policy and advocacy coordinator at MSF International) on health challenges; Nick Mills (field director of Boston University's Afghan Media Project, conducted a series of exclusive interviews with Karzai) on the Afghan president; Sharifa Sharif (Consultant/Expert on  Afghanistan, Education, Women and Culture ) on the condition of Afghan women; Peter Foot (Academic Dean at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy) on the international forces' presence in Afghanistan.