China’s cautious quest to draw Afghanistan back into the fold

Written by Sarah Godek

By increasing relations at a slower pace, China’s government makes a safer long-term bet on Afghanistan that forgoes short-run gains to ensure greater security that could protect longer-term benefits in the future.

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While the world softens on the Taliban, Afghans continue to suffer

Written by Chris Fitzgerald

The international community should leverage the Taliban’s desire for recognition and the need to solve Afghanistan’s problems with improving human rights in the country.

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The Taliban continues to struggle for international recognition

Written by Dante Schulz

The Taliban’s inability to address the security and economic concerns of its partners will only exacerbate the glaring issues plaguing Afghanistan.

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A united Taliban — an existential threat to Pakistan

Written by Dr Siegfried O. Wolf

Islamabad must realise that the Taliban constitutes a hostile government in Afghanistan and that it is not able to drive a wedge between the Afghan and Pakistan Taliban.

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2023: Where is Pakistan heading?

2022 was a difficult year for Pakistan: A humanitarian crisis sparked by devastating floods, the assassination attempt against former Prime Minister Imran Khan, and a faltering economy. Growing political instability also prompted US President Joe Biden to call Pakistan one of the most dangerous countries in the world, characterising it as “nuclear weapons without cohesion”.

The Taliban don’t know what to do — Afghanistan’s challenges

Written by Tim Foxley

A collapse back into civil war is not inevitable, but the Taliban are clearly struggling to move from an insurgency to a government.

A perfect storm of crises: Afghanistan in 2022

Written by Tim Foxley

The Taliban’s seizure of power and the sheer speed of government collapse took everyone by surprise. The international community, Afghanistan’s neighbourhood, and the Afghan population themselves are now attempting to understand and address the implications of a Taliban regime.

US credibility at home and abroad

Written by David Hutt

There is a deep sense of unease about America's actual place in world affairs. It is therefore worth considering whether American power, at home and abroad, appears weak or is weak.

In Conversation: Kerry Brown on “China’s World”

On one hand, there is a China that is complex, runs on different drivers depending on the issue one is talking about and is often poor at communicating, or resentful that it needs to communicate and do things that it sees everyone else doing without the need to explain themselves.

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Afghanistan continues to pose a traditional and non-traditional security threat

Written by Nilofar Sakhi

As the Taliban increases its stronghold and gains more territory and power, it will become a serious transnational threat. Radicalisation, the emergence of new terrorist groups, and arms trafficking will likely increase, adding to local security threats.

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Hazaras in Afghanistan face genocide post-US withdrawal

Written by Jumakhan Rahyab and Meena Yakobi

The international community must not allow the Taliban leadership’s overtures in Doha — about their plans to observe the international conventions — to cloud their thinking. The Hazaras need international support, and they need it immediately.

Taliban’s rapid territorial gains: The future of the post-US Afghanistan

Written by Abdul Basit

The gap and the lack of trust between Afghanistan’s political and military leadership have equally contributed to the Afghan security forces’ poor performance against the Taliban’s ground offensive. It is a well-known fact that several units of the Afghan security forces were not fighting by making arrangements with the Taliban, such as staging fake operations.

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