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Afghan Exodus: Notes from a Belgrade squat

The number of migrants, many of them Afghan, in Serbia has been steadily growing in the second half of 2016. More people continue to arrive, while departures have largely stagnated due to Hungary and Croatia tightening their border controls. As a result, Serbia is faced with a growing number of people on its soil who […]

30 Nov 2016 Martine van Bijlert • Jelena Bjelica • Migration

AAN’s Thomas Ruttig at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs

Afghanistan’s Uncertain Future: Fragmented Realities and Geopolitical Fault Lines Afghanistan’s political landscape can be characterized as a patchwork of contending ethnic factions and ever-shifting alliances. The security situation in Afghanistan remains extremely fluid and the insurgency shows no signs of abating. Afghanistan finds itself in the midst of a modern version of the historical Great […]

29 Nov 2016 admin • Events

AAN’s Thomas Ruttig on the new US administration’s possible approach to Afghanistan and Pakistan. (November, 2016)

The first episode of the Gandhara Podcast about the new US administration’s possible approach to Afghanistan and Pakistan, with AAN’s Thomas Ruttig, Woodrow Wilson School’s Michael Kugelmann, Gandhara’s Abu Bakr Siddique and host Muhammad Taher.  

28 Nov 2016 Thomas Ruttig • Podcasts

AAN’s Thomas Ruttig discusses ‘Hopes and Realities in Afghanistan’ at The Peace Research Institute Oslo (September, 2016)

Afghanistan has received less attention by the international community after the withdrawal of foreign troops in 2014. However, an increasing conflict level and civilian casualties, internal differences in the government, the presence of ISIS in the country and the thousands of Afghan refugees coming to Europe has put Afghanistan firmly back on the agenda. Afghanistan […]

28 Nov 2016 Thomas Ruttig • Podcasts

Carnage in Ghor: Was Islamic State the perpetrator or was it falsely accused? 

The Islamic State, holed up in a few districts in eastern Afghanistan, has suddenly popped up in a faraway western province, Ghor – at least according to provincial officials. They blamed IS for the massacre in October 2016 of more than 30 civilians. Digging deeper into the incident, AAN’s Borhan Osman found that the IS […]

23 Nov 2016 Borhan Osman • War and Peace

Post-Presidential Karzai: Still a challenge to the NUG?

Hamid Karzai may have handed over the reigns of power in September 2014, but his influence on Afghanistan’s politics did not end. His calls for a Loya Jirga, as the National Unity Government approached its two-year anniversary, represented a danger to that government. However, political groups and influential individuals, even those who had previously been […]

21 Nov 2016 Ali Yawar Adili • Political Landscape

Parliament Kicks Out Ministers Again: A multi-dimensional power struggle

The Afghan parliament’s lower house has sacked seven ministers in a new wave of interpellations (estizah). It is not clear who instigated the estizah motions, MPs themselves or Palace intrigue, or who will come out as the winner (the president has told the ministers to stay in their posts and called on the Supreme Court […]

19 Nov 2016 Thomas Ruttig • Political Landscape

One Step Closer to War Crime Trials? New ICC report on Afghanistan

The International Criminal Court’s Office of the Prosecutor has said it will “imminently” be taking a decision on whether to request authorisation from judges to commence an investigation into war crimes in Afghanistan. The Taleban could be investigated, among other offences, for murder and intentionally attacking civilians, while Afghan government forces, and the US military […]

17 Nov 2016 Ehsan Qaane • Kate Clark • Rights and Freedoms

“People That Hate Us”: What can Afghans expect from President Trump?

If Hillary Clinton had won Tuesday’s race for the White House, the world would now have a good sense of who her top officials would be and what her foreign policy would look like. With a Secretary of State-turned-president, Afghanistan could have expected business to carry on pretty much as normal. With Donald Trump coming […]

11 Nov 2016 Kate Clark • Thomas Ruttig • International Engagement

Kafka in Cuba: New AAN report on the Afghan experience in Guantánamo

A major new report from AAN’s Kate Clark looks at the Afghan experience in Guantanamo, where a quarter of the total number of detainees held were Afghan, the largest national group. The report takes a ‘deep dive’ into the cases of eight of the longest-serving Afghan detainees. Five are still in Cuba, while three were […]

3 Nov 2016 Kate Clark • Special Reports

Afghan Exodus: Can the Afghan government deal with more returnees from Europe?

In the first nine months of this year, over 5,000 Afghans voluntary returned to Afghanistan from Europe. The recent signing of an agreement between Afghanistan and the European Union to allow deportations of those who have not been accepted as asylum seekers means the numbers of Afghans returning from Europe will rise. AAN’s Jelena Bjelica […]

31 Oct 2016 Jelena Bjelica • Fazl Rahman Muzhary • Migration

The Politics of Opposition: A challenge to the National Unity Government?

The failure to implement its own agreement and the continuing rift within the National Unity Government have created an opportunity for political opposition groups across the spectrum to voice their criticism of the government. In the past, Afghanistan’s political opposition has been made up of various councils and fronts, often associated with prominent powerbrokers and […]

27 Oct 2016 Ali Yawar Adili • Lenny Linke • Political Landscape

The Bride Price: The Afghan tradition of paying for wives

Weddings are hugely expensive affairs in Afghanistan, with excessive costs for wedding halls, lavish meals and usually a bride price. The bride price is the money paid by the groom’s family for the bride to her family. It is a contested tradition that is viewed as having no foundation in Islamic law and does not […]

25 Oct 2016 Fazl Rahman Muzhary • Context and Culture

With an Active Cell in Kabul, ISKP Tries to Bring Sectarianism to the Afghan War

With its publically claimed attack on Afghan Shia mourners in Kabul on the eve of Ashura, the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) was clearly attempting to add a toxic sectarianism to the Afghan conflict. The attack, which killed 19 people, followed two other ISKP attacks, on a political demonstration by (largely Shia) Hazaras in July […]

19 Oct 2016 Borhan Osman • War and Peace

The Taleban Assault on Kunduz city: Déjà vu, but why?

A little over a year after the temporary fall of Kunduz city to the Taleban, the city has become a battleground again. On 3 October 2016, the Taleban entered during a massive assault from three directions. Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), supported by US forces and air power, are battling to recapture the areas they […]

12 Oct 2016 Obaid Ali • War and Peace

EU and Afghanistan Get Deal on Migrants: Disagreements, pressure and last minute politics

Finally, after a year of negotiations and some last minute hurdles – including on the Afghan side refusals to sign and an attempt to involve parliament – the European Union and Afghanistan have reached a ‘readmission’ agreement on how to return Afghans who have travelled to Europe and failed in their claims for asylum. President […]

6 Oct 2016 Jelena Bjelica • Migration

Thematic Dossier XIII: Still (not) dealing with the Kabul Bank scandal

One of the very first acts of the National Unity Government was to reopen the case of the massive Kabul Bank scandal. President Ghani later referred to this portfolio as one of his government’s “signaling priorities,” implying that progress on this issue would be indicative of the seriousness with which his government tackled corruption. Now, […]

3 Oct 2016 AAN Team • Dossiers

Thematic Dossier XII: Background Reading for the 2016 Brussels Conference

On 5 October 2016, the Government of Afghanistan and the European Union will co-host the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan. At the conference, governments and international organisations will scrutinise both the Afghan reform efforts and the efficiency and sustainability of international support to Afghanistan. There are several controversial topics set to be discussed at the conference […]

30 Sep 2016 AAN Team • Dossiers

The Brussels Conference on Afghanistan: Between aid and migration

The Afghan Government and the EU will co-host the Brussels conference on 5 October 2016. A couple of side events will take place on 4 October, and a high-level dialogue on migration is scheduled for 3 October. Around 70 countries and 30 international organisations will come together in the Belgian capital to review the achievements […]

30 Sep 2016 AAN Team • International Engagement

Peace With Hekmatyar: What does it mean for battlefield and politics?

The peace deal signed today by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of Hezb-e Islami, and President Ashraf Ghani, has been hailed by the Afghan government as the first major peace achievement of the last fifteen years. However, expectations should be tempered. Given Hezb-e Islami’s almost total absence on the battlefield, the deal is unlikely to significantly lower […]

29 Sep 2016 Borhan Osman • War and Peace