Opinions
Editing the Past: Colonial Production of Hegemony Through the “Loya Jerga” in Afghanistan
By M. Jamil Hanifi
The central government of Afghanistan disintegrated in April 1992 setting in motion the collapse of the Afghan state apparatus that culminated in the occupation of the country by the armed forces of the United States in Autu...
Afghan Trading Networks, Geopolitics and Everyday Diplomacy: Transcending West Asia’s Northern and Southern Tiers
By Magnus Marsden
Central Asian transnational commercial networks play an important role in connecting much of West Asia. Since the traders who form such networks are multi-lingual and able to inhabit multiple cultural spaces, they are...
US Peace Envoy to Afghanistan Must Stop Admiring Taliban to Succeed in Mission
By Mohammad Naser Sidiqee
Over the last couple of weeks, the Afghan government and E.U. officials have been scrambling to de-escalating tensions between U.S. Peace Envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad and Afghan Nat...
US-Taliban talks: Where will they lead Afghanistan?
By Hashim Wahdatyar
“The Taliban will run Afghanistan’s future government and encourage other Afghans to join them. The Afghan national army will collapse, and the Taliban will form another from scratch.” That was the declara...
Why Is Zalmay Khalilzad Such a Controversial Figure in Afghanistan?
By Sayed Ziafatullah Saeedi
Khalilzad’s history is worth recounting, to give context to recent chafing at his tactics in pursuing peace.
When the name Zalmay Khalilzad appeared on the news as a potential nominee for President T...