Dr Nematullah Bizhan, Senior Research Associate, GLF 2014-16
Nematullah Bizhan is a Lecturer in Public Policy at the Development Policy Centre, Crawford school of Public Policy, Australian National University. He is also a Senior Research Associate with the Global Economic Governance Program, Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford University. In 2017 and 2018 , Nematullah was a Research Fellow at the Blavatnik School of Government undertaking research on the role of identities and networks in establishing state legitimacy and effectiveness, and, in association with the Oxford-LSE Commission on State Fragility, Growth and Development, he worked on state fragility and international policy. He was an Oxford-Princeton Global Leaders Fellow at the University College, Oxford University (2015-16) and the Niehaus Centre for Globalization and Governance, Princeton University (2014-15). He is a member of the steering committees of both the South Asia in World Politics Section of the International Studies Association (ISA) and the Oxford Network of Peace Studies (OxPeace).
His research interests include public policy, international development, state fragility and state building as well as post-conflict reconstruction. He has published widely in high impact peer-reviewed press and journals. His recent book, Aid Paradoxes in Afghanistan: Building and Undermining the State, examines the process of state building and international intervention in Afghanistan. Nematullah is currently working on an edited volume on state fragility and public policy, which includes seven country case studies. His opinion pieces have appeared in Project Syndicate, Foreign Policy, ABC, Development Policy Centre blog, BBC Persian and 8Sobh Daily. His op-ed, A Path to Self-Reliance for Afghanistan, appeared in 27 publications in 9 languages around the world. He is a regular commentator on TV and Radio.
As a senior official at the ministries of Finance and Economy, and the Office of Chief Economist to the President in Afghanistan, Nematullah contributed to development programs and reforms that helped Afghanistan’s immediate post-2001 recovery. He served as Afghanistan’s Youth Deputy Minister; Founding Director General for Policy and Monitoring of Afghanistan National Development Strategy; Head of the Secretariat for the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board; and Director General of Budget at the Ministry of Finance. As a civil society activist, he has also contributed to promoting accountability and civic participation in decision-making processes.
Nematullah has a PhD in Political Science and International Relations from the Australian National University (Canberra 2014), an MA in Development Economics from Williams College (Massachusetts 2006), and an MD from Ibnsina Medical Faculty (Balkh 2001). He was an Australian Leadership Awardee (2009-2013) and a Fulbright Scholar (2005-2006). Born and raised in Afghanistan, he graduated from school with the highest honour. Nematullah can be found on Twitter @Nematbizhan or via email at nematullah.bizhan@anu.edu.au.
Publications
Bizhan, N. (2018) Aid and state-building, Part I: South Korea and Taiwan. Third World Quarterly, Volume 38, Issue 5
Bizhan, N. (2018) Aid and state-building, Part II: Afghanistan and Iraq. Third World Quarterly, Volume 38, Issue 5
Bizhan, N. (2017) Aid Paradoxes in Afghanistan: Building and Undermining the State (New York: Routledge).
Bizhan, N. (2017). Revenue and State Building in Afghanistan. In Afghanistan: Challenges and Prospects, ed. Srinjoy Bose, Nishank Motwani and William Malay (London: Routledge).
Bizhan, N (2016). A Path to Self-Reliance for Afghanistan. Op-ed, Project Syndicate.
Bizhan, N (2016). Reforming Aid Practices: Reinforcing the State Building Process in Afghanistan. GEG Policy Brief.
Nematullah Bizhan (2016). The effects of Afghanistan’s political evolution on migration and displacement. Migration Policy Practice. Volume VI, Number 3.
Bizhan, N. (2015). Continuity, Aid and Revival: State Building in South Korea, Taiwan, Iraq and Afghanistan. GEG Working Paper 2015/109, University of Oxford, Oxford.
Bizhan, N. (2015, July 13) Why Australian Aid Cuts are Harmful for Afghanistan, Development Policy Centre, Australian National University, 2015.
Bizhan, N. (2014, December). Five Key Priorities for the London Conference on Afghanistan. Foreign Policy.
Bizhan, N. (2014). Re-engaging in a Fragmented Context: Development Approaches and Aid Modalities in Afghanistan, 2001-2004. In Development in Difficult Socio-political Context of Failed, Fragile and Pariah States, ed. Anthony Ware (Hampshire: Palgrave), 202-223.
Bizhan, N. (2014, September). The Limits of U.S. Aid in Afghanistan, Foreign Policy.
Bizhan. N. (2014, April). Afghanistan’s Presidential Election: Cause for Cautious Optimism. Asian Currents.
Bizhan. N. (2014, November). Beyond the Afghan Election, Asian Currents.
Bizhan, N. (2013). Budget Transparency in Afghanistan: A Pathway to Building Public Trust in the State. Washington: International Budget Partnership.
Halqaih Khabisah Afghanistan, Aqtisad-i Zaayf, Wabastagy-i Maly (the Vicious Circle of Afghanistan, Poor Economy, Financial Dependency and Corruption). BBC Persian, 2012.
Bizhan. N. (2010, February 18). Charlie Wilson's legacy. ABC.
Bizhan. N. (2010, November 6). The Job Isn't Done Yet in Afghanistan. ABC.
Ghani, S. and Bizhan, N. (2009). Contracting Out Government Functions and Services in Afghanistan. In Contracting out Government Functions and Services: Emerging Lessons from Post-Conflict and Fragile Situations, ed. OECD, 97-113.
Bizhan. N. (2009, September). Afghan Election-the Game of Momentum. Asian Currents.
Bizhan, N. (2007, Fall), Afghanistan Taqatui-e Jiryanat-e Mantiqa (Afghanistan: The Cross Route of Regional Events). Kabul: Regional Studies Journal of Afghanistan.
