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.

Flagship report

Illicit Networks-Zaranj

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.

Content

Experts react

Mar 18, 2024

Experts react: Pakistan just carried out airstrikes on Afghanistan. What’s next?

By Atlantic Council experts

How will Pakistan’s strikes inside Afghanistan affect the already tense relations between Islamabad and Kabul? Our experts share their insights.

Afghanistan Conflict

Inside the Taliban's gender apartheid

Mar 14, 2024

Why the Taliban’s persecution of women meets the bar of a crime against humanity

By Azadah Raz Mohammad

Codifying gender apartheid as a crime against humanity is an important step toward holding the Taliban accountable.

Afghanistan Human Rights

New Atlanticist

Mar 8, 2024

This International Women’s Day, hold the Taliban to account for gender apartheid

By Azadah Raz Mohammad, Metra Mehran

Gender apartheid must be included as a standalone crime against humanity in international law. The United Nations has an opportunity to make that happen.

Afghanistan Human Rights

Inside the Taliban's gender apartheid

Mar 7, 2024

Inside Afghanistan’s gender apartheid: Listen as women reveal the impact of the Taliban’s oppressive decrees

Since the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, women have battled against increasingly severe restrictions on education, employment, and daily public life. This report, a joint effort by the Civic Engagement Project and the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center, underscores their remarkable resilience and unyielding spirit in the face of gender apartheid.

Afghanistan Human Rights

New Atlanticist

Mar 7, 2024

Twice under the Taliban: The repeated nightmare of my generation

By Horia Mosadiq

The deepening human rights crisis under the Taliban underscores the dire need for global attention on the plight of Afghanistan’s women.

Afghanistan Human Rights

In the News

Feb 22, 2024

Damon quoted in Zawya on her documentary following survivors of conflict

By Atlantic Council

Afghanistan Conflict

Strategic Litigation

Dec 15, 2023

Strategic Litigation Quarterly Newsletter: Pursuing gender justice through international law

The SLP team has continued and built upon efforts to codify the crime of gender apartheid in international law, including by advocating for its inclusion in the UN Sixth Committee’s draft crimes against humanity treaty.

Afghanistan China

In the News

Dec 7, 2023

Asat quoted in The China Project on Uyghurs in Afghanistan

By Atlantic Council

Afghanistan China

New Atlanticist

Oct 5, 2023

Gender apartheid is a horror. Now the United Nations can make it a crime against humanity. 

By Gissou Nia

The international community has an opportunity to codify the crime of gender apartheid in the United Nations’ crimes against humanity treaty. Learn more about gender apartheid from the Atlantic Council’s Gissou Nia.

Afghanistan Education

In the News

Aug 18, 2023

Plitsas quoted in Stars and Stripes on US veterans supporting Afghan resettlement

By Atlantic Council

Afghanistan Civil Society

Experts