Collaborating to create the At-Risk Afghanistan Web Archive (ARAWA): A project at the University of California-Berkeley Library

Abstract

Twenty years later, as the U.S. “Afghanistan Project” concluded in 2021 with the U.S. troop withdrawal and civilian evacuation, it became clear that despite our good intentions to develop and foster a democratic state in Afghanistan, it was only a partial success. Despite the corruption within the ranks of certain Afghan officials and the frustrating outcomes for the planned projects, a semblance of functioning civil society had emerged across several urban centers in Afghanistan. The levels of corruption, ineptitude, and missed chances have been documented in the series of reports with the title “What We Need to Learn: Lessons from Twenty Years of Afghanistan Reconstruction,” prepared by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. The central government in Kabul had a web presence through several departmental websites and those of the regional, provincial governments. Besides governmental websites, several educational institutions of higher learning, artists, social activists, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) described themselves, expressed their opinions, reported policy decisions, and communicated other information through their web presence on official websites and social media sites.