Opinions




Editing the Past: Colonial Production of Hegemony Through the “Loya Jerga” in Afghanistan

  Thursday, May 02, 2019

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

  Saturday, April 27, 2019

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

  Monday, April 15, 2019

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?

  Tuesday, April 09, 2019

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?

  Saturday, April 06, 2019

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...