Afghanistan Archives

Featured reading

Interview May 23, 2023

A conversation with Hassan Abbas on his new book “The Return of the Taliban”

By Hassan Abbas & Uzair Younus

Uzair Younus talks to Hassan Abbas, distinguished professor at National Defense University, about his new book “The Return of the Taliban.”

Afghanistan Conflict

SouthAsiaSource Apr 28, 2023

The stark choice facing the United States in Afghanistan: Leave entirely or finish the job

By Davood Moradian

The release of the White House’s review of the chaotic 2021 troop withdrawal showed once again that the realities of Afghanistan and US partisan politics take precedence over President Biden’s desire to permanently disentangle Washington from Afghanistan.

Afghanistan International Organizations

SouthAsiaSource Feb 2, 2023

For Pakistan, dealing with its Taliban problem is a walk on eggshells

By Javid Ahmad

Islamabad faces a lose-lose scenario against the Pakistani Taliban. But it is not too late for Pakistan to stop peeling the banana from the wrong end.

Afghanistan Pakistan

Strategic dialogues

The participants of the Atlantic Council / Rockefeller Brothers Fund Strategic Dialogues have been working for the past eight months to develop a long-term strategic outlook to promote stability in Afghanistan consistent with Afghan, US, and European interests and values. This group of distinguished European, American, and Afghan diplomats, military officers, scholars, and analysts brought to our deliberations a deep understanding of the context both on the ground and among the allies. We explored a diplomatic-security framework based on the minimal conditions and variables necessary to realize a long-term vision of a sovereign, unified, democratic, peaceful, and prosperous Afghanistan and generated recommendations to support this vision.

Feature Apr 22, 2021

A transatlantic charter for peace and security in Afghanistan

By South Asia Center

The Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center presents the exclusive launch of the Transatlantic Charter on Afghanistan as part of the Strategic Dialogues on and with Afghanistan.

Afghanistan Europe & Eurasia

Nov 23, 2020

Developing a long-term transatlantic framework for peace and security in Afghanistan

Between fall 2020 and summer 2021, the South Asia Center hosts a series of private, high-level strategic dialogues to develop and advocate for a longer-term strategic outlook to ensure stability in Afghanistan as well as maintaining US and European counter-terrorism interests.

Flagship report

In-Depth Research & Reports

Jul 15, 2020

Strategies for reforming Afghanistan’s illicit networks

By Harris Samad and Fatima Salman

Authored in-house and advised upon by senior fellows Ambassador James B. Cunningham, Ambassador Omar Samad, Marika Theros, Javid Ahmad, and Fatemeh Aman, this report explores illicit networks in Afghanistan in the context of peacebuilding, democratic consolidation, and enhancing state capacity. It concludes by outlining several specific policy recommendations that will be necessary to combat the illicit networks in a manner that supports the durability of the ongoing peace process in Afghanistan and the continued consolidation of its fragile democratic institutions.

Afghanistan Arms Control

The South Asia Center (SAC) is the hub for the Atlantic Council’s analysis of the political, social, geographical, and cultural diversity of the region.

At the intersection of South Asia and its geopolitics, SAC cultivates dialogue to shape policy and forge ties between the region and the global community.

Learn more

Content

Interview

May 23, 2023

A conversation with Hassan Abbas on his new book “The Return of the Taliban”

By Hassan Abbas & Uzair Younus

Uzair Younus talks to Hassan Abbas, distinguished professor at National Defense University, about his new book "The Return of the Taliban."

Afghanistan Conflict

SouthAsiaSource

Apr 28, 2023

The stark choice facing the United States in Afghanistan: Leave entirely or finish the job

By Davood Moradian

The release of the White House’s review of the chaotic 2021 troop withdrawal showed once again that the realities of Afghanistan and US partisan politics take precedence over President Biden's desire to permanently disentangle Washington from Afghanistan.

Afghanistan International Organizations

In the News

Apr 10, 2023

Sakhi in CNN: Afghan women banned from working for the U.N.

By Atlantic Council

Afghanistan Freedom and Prosperity

In the News

Apr 8, 2023

Rich Outzen quoted in the Washington Examiner on Afghanistan withdrawal

Afghanistan Conflict

MENASource

Mar 16, 2023

I was once denied an education in Iraq. This is why the Taliban’s prohibition on female education matters.

By Nibras Basitkey

As an Iraqi refugee who understands the importance of education, I recognize that achieving gender parity in education is critical for Afghanistan’s long-term economic growth and prosperity.

Afghanistan Education

In the News

Mar 3, 2023

Manza featured in Deutschen Welle on the role of cultural biases in the failed international military operation in Afghanistan

By John Manza

On March 3, Transatlantic Security Initiative nonresident senior fellow John Manza was quoted in Deutschen Welle on the role of cultural biases in the failed international military operation in Afghanistan (text in German).

Afghanistan Defense Policy

SouthAsiaSource

Feb 2, 2023

For Pakistan, dealing with its Taliban problem is a walk on eggshells

By Javid Ahmad

Islamabad faces a lose-lose scenario against the Pakistani Taliban. But it is not too late for Pakistan to stop peeling the banana from the wrong end.

Afghanistan Pakistan

In the News

Jan 27, 2023

Atwell in Modern War Institute

By Atlantic Council

On January 23, Forward Defense Nonresident Senior Fellow Kyle Atwell hosted a podcast examining the lessons that the US military, and in particular the US Army, should take from the twenty-war year in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan Conflict

In the News

Jan 19, 2023