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Shared Goals: Measuring Overall Development Progress in Pakistan

01/14/2011

Measuring Overall Development Progress in Pakistan

The United States has one overriding goal in Pakistan. It is a more capable and prosperous, less fractious state, able to fulfill three basic functions: ensure internal security, meet the basic needs of its citizens, and maintain its own legitimacy. As clearly set out in the Obama administration’s strategic planning documents, Pakistan’s political, economic, and security challenges undermine not only its own security, but also the security of other countries in the region and of the United States. In the end, it only is when Pakistan is on a durable path toward transformation that American policymakers can put to rest their nightmare scenario of extremists and terrorists controlling that beleaguered country’s nuclear arsenal.

A new focus on measuring development results would have far-reaching benefits for U.S. development strategy, for U.S. public diplomacy efforts, and for the strength of Pakistan’s democratic institutions. In this essay, Nancy Birdsall and Wren Elhai suggest five possible indicators that illustrate the type of measurable targets that could help the United State and Pakistan meet shared goals for effective and transparent development.

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