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David Mansfield

Alcis

David Mansfield has been conducting research on illicit economies in Afghanistan and on its borders each year since 1997. David has a PhD in development studies and is the author of “A State Built on Sand: How opium undermined Afghanistan.” He has produced more than eighty research-based products on rural livelihoods and cross-border economies, many for the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit, and working in close partnership with Alcis. David was also the lead researcher on the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction’s Counter Narcotics: Lessons from the US Experience in Afghanistan, covering the period from 2002 – 2017.

David Mansfield’s XCEPT research

Blog

16th June 2025
Satellite imagery is vital to better understanding the reasons for conflict and identifying the best policy options.

Briefing paper

26th March 2025
This briefing paper examines policy considerations around the effects of climate change, specifically reduced water resources in the Helmand River Bas...

Research report

26th March 2025
How is climate change affecting water resources in the Helmand River Basin, and how might competition for these resources drive conflict in the futute...

Briefing paper

26th March 2025
This brief contains policy considerations and implications resulting from violent clashes between Iranian and Afghan border forces in May 2023.

Research report

26th March 2025
What was the cause of an outburst of violence between Iranian and Afghan border forces in May 2023?

Research report

25th April 2024
New research by David Mansfield and Alcis explores the extent to which the Taliban has concentrated power in the hands of Pashtun fighters and how the...

Research report

25th July 2022
This research reveals just how fundamentally the rules that govern cross-border trade have changed since the Taliban takeover, upending the political ...

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