AHMAD IDREES RAHMANI
1776 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90407
Phone: +1 310 985 5880, Email: arahmani@prgs.edu
Webpage: www.policy.hu/rahmani
EDUCATION:
PhD candidate, Research and Policy Analysis, Pardee RAND Graduate School, United
States (expected to graduate 2012 – 2013)
 Dissertation: Cultural consensus among different groups of Afghan population on
characteristics of successful and popular political leadership.
MPil, Research and Policy Analysis, Pardee RAND Graduate School United States, 2010
MA, International Policy Studies, Stanford University, United States, 2007
BSc. Chemical Engineering, Balkh University, Afghanistan, 1994
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
Assistant Policy Researcher, RAND Corporation, United States 2008 to present.
Founding Director, AIR Consulting Company, Afghanistan 2008 to present.
Co-Founding Director, Afghanistan Center for Research & Policy Studies, Afghanistan 2009
Independent Consultant: Afghanistan, Pakistan & Central Asia, 2005 to 2008
Program Development Specialist: USAID Afghanistan, 2002 to 2005
Program Manager, International Rescue Committee, Afghanistan & Pakistan, 1998 to 2002
AWARDS:
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Impact Award in recognition of research assistance towards RAND’s security study
projects.
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Five-year fellowship award from RAND/PRGS supporting completion of a PhD
program at Pardee RAND Graduate School.
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Two one-year scholarship award from Pardee RAND graduate school (2008 – 2009)
partially supporting the first and second year tuition.
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Two-year Fulbright scholarship award supporting completion of masters degree at
Stanford University (2005 – 2007)
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One and half year International Policy Fellowship award supporting a policy research
on the role of religious institution in sub-national governance in Afghanistan.
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Award of Excellence in Performance by the US Presidential Envoy to Afghanistan for
successful negotiation of critical USG projects with the Afghan government, 2005.
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Foreign Service National of the Year award received from USAID/OTI in
Washington for recognition of valuable contribution to USAID’s mission in
Afghanistan, 2003.
PUBLICATIONS:
 Study of the Afghan economy and how it affects the Pashtun people: implications for
the insurgency in Afghanistan, 2011 RAND publication, not available for public
distribution.
 The contributions of ground forces to U.S. Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy: an exploratory
model-based assessment: 2010 RAND Publication, not available for public distribution.
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Knowledge, Attitude, and Behavior analysis of citizens of Kandahar city towards
government and municipal services. 2011 AIR Consulting project sponsored by
USAID/Chemonics International in Southern Afghanistan. Report available from:
http://www.theairconsulting.com/kandahar-kap-study.html
Knowledge, Attitude, and Behavior study of Afghan population (national level) towards
expansion of international trade in Afghanistan. 2010 AIR Consulting project sponsored
by USAID/Chemonics International in Kabul. Report available from:
http://www.theairconsulting.com/trade-kap-study.html
Survey research of Afghan youth attitude towards three stakeholders of current conflict
in Afghanistan (ISAF/NATO, Afghan Government, and Taliban). 2010 AIR Consulting
project sponsored by KOCHA organization, report not available for public distribution.
Determinants of state’s political legitimacy: a panel study of 177 countries, 2010. The
paper is under review for publication on an academic journal. The draft is available at
http://prgs.academia.edu/AhmadIdreesRahmani
Wellbeing and public attitudes in Afghanistan: contributed to the final paper by Dr Carol
Graham from Brookings Institute, 2009. The paper is available from
http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2009/05_afghanistan_happiness_graham.aspx
Analysis of cost of operation for NGOs in Afghanistan: an empirical study sponsored by
the USIP in 2009. Report is available by request from USIP.
Regional trade and decline of private investment in Afghanistan: a research project
supported by the German Development Agency (GTZ), 2008. The paper is available
from http://prgs.academia.edu/AhmadIdreesRahmani
Conducted a series studies on operationalization of Afghanistan’s National Development
Strategy (ANDS). 2008 USAID/Bearing Point project—reports are available from
Bearing Point Office in Afghanistan.
Evaluation of Afghanistan’s Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), a major World Bank
project in Afghanistan, 2008 World Bank project, report is available from the Bank.
Coauthored a five-year strategic plan for Afghanistan’s Independent Directorate of Local
Governance, sponsored by the Asia Foundation in 2008. The document is available
from the office of IDLG in Afghanistan.
The role of religious institutions in provision of public goods beyond Kabul: a
descriptive study of power structure at the village level sponsored by the International
Policy Fellowship in 2005. http://prgs.academia.edu/AhmadIdreesRahmani
Conducted a series of food market study for different US companies based in the United
States 2005 – 2007. Most of the reports are not public documents.
INVITED PRESENTATIONS:
 Why president Karzai is becoming less cooperative with the US? A political argument
presented to the board of trustees of RAND Corporation in 2011.
 Peace and Reconciliation in Afghanistan, a conference at a German think tank, Berghof
Conflict Research, Scheduled for June 2010 in Germany.
 The Challenge of Poor Governance on Security Developments of Afghanistan, a
presentation scheduled in Germany and Brussels, June 2010.
 Deconstructed Policy Implications of Afghanistan’s National Development Framework.
A three day conference for the office of the president in Afghanistan, 2009
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The Importance of Good Economic Policy Making, a series of talks and presentations to
the economic sub-committee of Afghanistan Parliament, 2008 – 2009.
Presentation of Sub-national Governance in Islamic States in a regional Fulbright
conference for South Asian Countries, Nepal 2008.
Presentation of Religious Institutions & Sub-national Governance research report in
Afghanistan, Budapest, and the US in 2007.
Presentation of potentials and caveats of Afghanistan’s National Solidarity Project,
Islamabad & Delhi 2007 and 2008.
Several presentations to high level USG delegates (congressmen and secretaries of US
government) on political and economic issues of Afghanistan, 2002 – 2005.
Several presentations and talks to USG delegates visiting refugee camps in Pakistan, 1998
– 2001.
LANGUAGE SKILLS:
 Farsi (Dari, Persian, Tajiki), native.
 Pashtu, very good conversationally.
 English, fluent.
 Urdu, good conversationally.
 Russian, basic conversation.
 Arabic, basic understanding.