Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: September 2019

Ghani, Abdullah Facing Off In Two-Horse Afghan Presidential Race

Thomas Ruttig •

RFE/RL, 25 September 2019 Two quotes from AAN’s Thomas Ruttig – besides Chatham House’s Hameed Hakimi, and International Crisis Group consultant Graeme Smith: “The political elites were unable to come up with a viable challenger [to the two NUG heads],” says Thomas Ruttig, co-director of the independent Kabul-based Afghanistan Analysts Network. As a result, Ruttig says, Afghanistan’s […]

AAN in the Media Read more

Afghanistan’s 2019 Election (9): Presidential poll primer

Ali Yawar Adili • Jelena Bjelica • Thomas Ruttig •

After two delays and the cancelation of a peace deal which might have scuppered the poll altogether, Afghanistan’s presidential election is finally to happen, on Saturday 28 September. It will be the country’s fourth presidential election and seventh election in total since 2001. In this primer, AAN’s Ali Yawar Adili, Jelena Bjelica and Thomas Ruttig […]

Political Landscape Read more

Afghanistan wählt einen neuen Präsidenten – für die Kandidaten und die Wählerinnen ist das lebensgefährlich

Thomas Ruttig •

Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 24 September 2019 A primer for the Afghan presidential election on 28 September of the leading Swiss newspaper, with a quote from AAN research on the lack of electoral reform (in German): Derweil steckt eine versprochene Wahlreform nach Einschätzung der Denkfabrik Afghanistan Analysts Network im Embryonalstadium. Die jetzigen Institutionen gelten als parteiisch […]

AAN in the Media Read more

AAN Has Concerns About Rural Voters’ Access to Polling Centers

Thomas Ruttig •

ToloNews, 24 September 2019 Both AAN’s Ali Adili and Thomas Ruttig can be seen speaking about the forthcoming presidential election in the leading private TV channel’s 6pm news – starts at 5:25 min (in Dari). Also as short English news text, here.

AAN in the Media Read more
A still from the documentary showing a young girl wearing the traditional hat called kola-ye topak-dar in Daikundi province. Photo: Nasim Seyamak

Afghanistan’s 2019 Elections (8): Greater insecurity, fewer votes and pre-election politics in Herat

S Reza Kazemi •

Security has been deteriorating in the western province of Herat with the government and Taleban continuing to hit each other hard, particularly in districts farther from the provincial capital. Insecurity, together with the disillusionment after the previous mismanaged elections, is likely to result in fewer voters going to the polls on 28 September compared to […]

Political Landscape Read more

Fear, Fatigue Could Undermine Afghan Presidential Vote

AAN •

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 23 September 2019 Quotes from AAN’s Ali Yawar Adili and AAN research in this pre-election article: Ali Adili, a researcher at the Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN), an independent think tank in Kabul, predicts a low turnout because of “insecurity, uninspiring election campaigns by the candidates, and a lack of confidence in […]

AAN in the Media Read more

‘Voting means you’re crazy’: violence and fraud overshadow Afghanistan poll

AAN •

The Guardian, 22 September 2019 A primer by Emma Harrison on the 28 September presidential election in Afghanistan, saying “turnout almost certain to be dented by security worries and disillusionment, many analysts fear that this re-run of the 2014 contest will produce a repeat of its disputed and fraud-damaged results.” AAN’s Ali Yawar Adili is […]

AAN in the Media Read more
"The Afghan peace delegation while crossing the Torkham border on their way to the Rawalpindi peace conference, 24 July 1919. The tall, bearded man on the left is Ghulam Muhammad Khan Wardak, then Minister of Commerce, while the figure in the centre with a plumed cap is probably Mahmud Tarzi, Minister of Foreign Affairs and head of the delegation.”

The 1919 War of Independence (or third Anglo-Afghan War): a conflict the Afghans started (and ended)

Fabrizio Foschini •

Not all conflicts in Afghanistan’s history have been long, drawn-out or seemingly endless affairs, and not all of them degenerated into civil wars either. Outstanding among them, sadly many, instances of military operations inside or around Afghanistan, was the War of Independence of 1919, one of the few which was started by the Afghan state […]

Context and Culture Read more

The Human and Financial Costs of the Explosive Remnants of War in Afghanistan

AAN •

Brown University, 19 September 2019 A new report by the Brown University, Watson Institute’s Costs of War project: Afghanistan ranks as one of the most landmine- and unexploded ordnance-impacted countries in the world, even after thirty years of clearance operations supported extensively by the United Nations and a number of major donors, including the United […]

Recommended Reads Read more

Fredshåpet brast, volden trappes opp i Afghanistan

Thomas Ruttig •

Vårt Land, 17 September 2019 A processed interview with AAN’s Thomas Ruttig in this Norwegian daily, mainly covering the current security situation after the breakdown of US-Taleban talks and the forthcoming election.

AAN in the Media Read more
On the first day of the election campaign, only two (Ghani and Atmar) out of 18 candidates put up their pictures and posters along Darul Aman Road, a major road in Kabul. Atmar's election ticket has disintegrated since then. Photo: Ali Yawar Adili, 28 July 2019

Afghanistan’s 2019 Election (7): Dithering over peace amid a lacklustre campaign

Ali Yawar Adili • Thomas Ruttig •

One ticket has fallen apart and one candidate has withdrawn his candidacy in favour of another. This has reduced the number of presidential candidates from 18 to 16 and left the two incumbents, President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Dr Abdullah, as the main contenders in the race. In this piece, AAN’s Ali Yawar Adili […]

Political Landscape Read more

‘Ik ken niet anders dan oorlog in Afghanistan, maar hoop op deal VS-Taliban’ (I don’t know Afghanistan in anything but war, but hope on the US-Taleban deal)

AAN •

NOS, 14 September 2019 A long interview on the largest Dutch public broadcasters website with AAN’s Fazl Muzhary, about the situation in Afghanistan, his own live in the war and his work with AAN – before the US-Taleban deal broke down (in Dutch).

AAN in the Media Read more

Subscribe to receive updates from the Afghanistan Analysts Network

Sign up