The Asia Foundation

Expertise: Program development and management in decentralization and local governance, rule of law, access to justice, and human rights, and in conflict and post-conflict situations; public policy analysis and formulation; political, environmental, social, and economic issues in Afghanistan, Nepal, and South Asia.

George Varughese is The Asia Foundation's country representative in Afghanistan, responsible for all aspects of development and management of programs there, including: institution building for central government, sub-national governance, research, electoral management capacity building, and public education and discourse on democratic political processes. In 2006 and 2007, he spearheaded the largest public opinion surveys ever conducted in Afghanistan, the findings of which present an important view towards Afghan’s perceptions of their country’s progress in recent times. He also directed the 2006 poll’s companion study, State Building, Political Progress, and Human Security in Afghanistan: Reflections on a Survey of the Afghan People, which examines areas of intense, current interest in Afghanistan, and describes how Afghans view the security situation, democratic values, trust in formal and informal institutions, political progress, and the role of women in society.

Dr. Varughese formerly served as deputy country representative in Nepal, working on programs that strengthen the capacity of democratic institutions to assure good governance and the rule of law; provide access to justice, particularly through alternate dispute resolution; encourage greater respect for human rights, particularly during conflict; and support policy reforms in the economic sector with regard to small business.

Dr. Varughese has worked in the fields of political economy of development, social science research, and management in Afghanistan, Nepal, India, Madagascar, and the U.S. for more than 18 years. Prior to joining the Foundation in 2000, he was country program advisor for the United Nations Development Program in Nepal.

Dr. Varughese’s publications include, among others, “Practical Challenges: Conducting Survey Research in Afghanistan” Public Opinion Pros, LFP Editorial Enterprises, LLC, www.PublicOpinionPros.com (April 2007); “The Contested Role of Heterogeneity in Collective Action: Some Evidence from Community Forestry in Nepal,” World Development Vol. 29, no. 5 (May 2001); and “Population and Forest Dynamics in the Hills of Nepal: Institutional Remedies by Rural Communities” in People and Forests: Communities, Institutions, and the Governance of Forests (2000), Cambridge: MIT Press.

Education: Ph.D., Indiana University, Bloomington.