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A thin line between insurgency and local politics in Badakhshan

The competition between strongmen in Badakhshan until recently took place mainly at the local level – commanders would vie with each other for the control of poppy cultivation and trafficking or mine extraction. Patronage from the centre, from the Badakhshi politicians in Kabul, had also been a vital component of these struggles, but until recently […]

1 Nov 2012 Fabrizio Foschini • Political Landscape

Election Date Fixed, but Questions Remain on Next Steps

Afghanistan has a date for its next presidential elections: 5 April 2014. But today’s announcement by the Independent Election Commission of a timeline leading up to this date leaves questions open about its implementation. First, there are contradictory statements about whether the old, controversial voter cards will be used again. Second, the IEC aims at […]

31 Oct 2012 Thomas Ruttig • Political Landscape

Guest Blog: The Andar Uprising – Co-opted, divided and stuck in a dilemma

More than five months into the Andar uprising, the anti-Taleban rebellion supported by the government and US forces has failed to unite the local tribe under its banner. Differences between participating groups have further sharpened as the government’s attempt to turn it into its proxy (and integrate it into the Afghan Local Police) has become […]

30 Oct 2012 Emal Habib • War and Peace

Warning Bells over Slow Electoral Reform and Voter Registration for 2014

A number of organisations have warned that electoral reform in the run-up to the 2014 polls in Afghanistan is moving too slowly. Two issues stand out: the lack of a voter registry and the lack of a revised electoral law. The recent argument about whether the future ECC should include UN-nominated members or not is […]

29 Oct 2012 Thomas Ruttig • Political Landscape

23 and 27 October 2012, Munich/Berlin: ‘Whither Afghanistan?’

AAN’s Thomas Ruttig participated in two podium discussions on Afghanistan in Germany in late October, a public one in Bavaria’s state parliament in Munich on 23 October (‘Whither Afghanistan?’), with an audience of over 400, and one under Chatham House rules, on occasion of the 20th founding anniversary German Bundesakademie für Sicherheit (BAKS, Federal Security […]

27 Oct 2012 AAN • admin • Events

Living in a Minefield: Panjwayi after the US Surge

In the words of one local elder, life in Panjwayi resembles living in a minefield. The district just southwest of Kandahar city has been a major arena for the US troop surge that was ordered in 2009 by President Obama dispatching 33,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. The surge ended in September this year and was […]

24 Oct 2012 Borhan Osman • War and Peace

Guest Blog: Afghans or Americans on Top? The Future of Special Forces Operations in Afghanistan

In July, a new task force combining all international and Afghan special forces under a unified command was set up. Known as the Special Operations Joint Task Force-Afghanistan (SOJTF-A), it is led by an American general, but its spokesperson told AAN, ‘SOJTF-A does not have command of any Afghan Special Operations Forces, rather, we partner, […]

22 Oct 2012 Gary Owen • International Engagement

Conservatism by Default: Badakhshan’s Jamiat after Ustad Rabbani

Politics in Badakhshan sometimes seem to follow a separate course than Afghanistan’s mainstream, as is the case in other peripheral areas. Powerbrokers in this remote province – usually former jihadi commanders, most of them linked to the Jamiat-e Islami party – are struggling for control of trafficking and extracting resources from the province and appear […]

21 Oct 2012 Fabrizio Foschini • Political Landscape

BREAKING NEWS: Harirod Storm Swept the Northern Alborz

Yesterday, 19 October 2012, Tofan Harirod defeated Simorgh Alborz 2-1 in a hotly contested final match of the Roshan Afghan Premier League. This may not have decisive and immediate implications on the political situation of Afghanistan, but the date will indeed remain a memorable one in the annals of Afghan sport. Moreover, it turned out […]

20 Oct 2012 Fabrizio Foschini • Context and Culture

Social Protection in Afghanistan: Between Conflict, Traditions and International Aid

Martine van Bijlert, in: “The Cup, The Gun and The Crescent: Social welfare and civil unrest in Muslim societies”, edited by Sarah Ashencaen Crabtree, Jonathan Parker & Azlinda Azman; Bournemouth University Press (forthcoming) Martine van Bijlert discusses the formal and informal social protection structures in Afghanistan. Formal programmes are modest, despite the high levels of […]

20 Oct 2012 Martine van Bijlert • External publications