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Wolesi Jirga, Next Movement: Andantino con Blackout (amended)

Another two inconclusive sessions – when it comes to the election of the speaker – of the Wolesi Jirga, the Lower House in Kabul, have been held over the Western weekend. But they were worth following, nevertheless, since they brought interesting, ‘anti-authoritarian’ decisions: new candidates will run and not the two main contenders, Sayyaf and […]

6 Feb 2011 Fabrizio Foschini • Political Landscape

The Terrible F-Word

Remind me who had said this 😉 that failure is no option. Or is it? At least the European Parliament thinks so and has said it in a recent resolution – that the international strategy in Afghanistan has failed? Our frequent reader and today’s guest blogger Mario Ragazzi(*) has asked himself what we mean when […]

6 Feb 2011 Mario Ragazzi • Political Landscape

Lower House speaker election: Intermezzo of the Surprise Candidates

As widely predicted, also the second attempt to elect a speaker of the newly inaugurated Wolesi Jirga that took place on Wednesday did not give any decisive result. Afghanistan’s lower house now has held already its first four sessions without being able to do so. AAN’s Gran Hewad and Fabrizio Foschini have attended the meeting […]

4 Feb 2011 Fabrizio Foschini • Gran Hewad • Political Landscape

Afghanistan’s new parliament and yet another election (updated)

130 days after the parliamentary vote and 64 days after the final results, not to mention a fair deal of wrangling, the new Wolesi Jirga was inaugurated on Wednesday 26 January. The process had been long and full of hurdles and it is still not completely certain that it is over. As late as Saturday […]

30 Jan 2011 Fabrizio Foschini • Political Landscape

28 January 2011: New AAN paper looks for Afghan insights in theories of conflict resolution

AAN’s new discussion paper by Matt Waldman and Thomas Ruttig takes a more theoretical approach to the current debate about reconciliation, often too narrowly described just as ‘talking to the Taleban’. It looks into various theories of conflict resolution and which insights they may offer for a peaceful solution of the Afghan conflict. Despite the […]

28 Jan 2011 AAN • admin • Events

Handing over Responsibilities in Afghanistan

International actors in Afghanistan have long been torn between negative trends, bleak assessments, ambitious strategies and ritualistic reports of hopeful developments. Their publics at home are uneasy about the lack of clarity on why their forces are in Afghanistan and what exactly they are achieving. Well-informed diplomats and policymakers are often very pessimistic in private, […]

28 Jan 2011 Martine van Bijlert • International Engagement

Peace offerings: Theories of conflict resolution and their applicability to Afghanistan

AAN’s new discussion paper by Matt Waldman and Thomas Ruttig takes a more theoretical approach to the current debate about reconciliation, often too narrowly described just as ‘talking to the Taleban’. It looks into various theories of conflict resolution and which insights they may offer for a peaceful solution of the Afghan conflict. Despite the […]

28 Jan 2011 Matt Waldman • Thomas Ruttig • Special Reports

9 February 2011: AAN in Berlin

Thomas Ruttig, a Senior Analyst of AAN, will give two public presentations on Afghanistan’s current political situation in Germany soon, on 18 January in Osnabrück and on 9 February in Berlin. Presentation on 9 February in Berlin, under the title ‘Afghanistan after NATO’s transition decision’ will take place as follows: Time: 10.00 – 12.00 am […]

27 Jan 2011 AAN • admin • Events

What comes after the Transition?

This evening I will be debating whether the West has failed in Afghanistan. Earlier this week I was asked to comment on Dutch plans to send a police mission to Kunduz. A week ago I spent two days brainstorming on what a sustainable transition in Afghanistan could look like (transition being code for phased exit). […]

27 Jan 2011 Martine van Bijlert • International Engagement

27 January 2011: AAN at the Open Forum, Davos 2011

Join AAN’s Martine van Bijlert during the Open Forum Davos 2011, in the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, where she will be participating in a public panel discussion on whether the West has failed in Afghanistan. The Open Forum Davos 2011 is organized by the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches (SEK) and the World […]

25 Jan 2011 AAN • admin • Events

27/29 January 2011, Potsdam: Afghanistan on stage again

At the gates of Potsdam – the residential town of Germany’s monarchy abolished in 1918 – lies a little village called Geltow. That’s where the Bundeswehr‘s Operational Command is based. In Potsdam itself, another German theatre production will deal with events in Afghanistan soon: ‘Potsdam-Kundus’ by Clemens Bechtel. Premiere night was on 12 January. Next […]

22 Jan 2011 AAN • admin • Events

High Hurdles Race to the Afghan Parliament (updated)

As expected, President Karzai’s announcement of 5-to-12 to delay the Parliament’s inauguration for one month has opened a tough political match. For the last three days, the winning candidates have kept meeting every morning at the Intercontinental hotel. The majority remained committed to proceed with the inauguration on Sunday as well as with their rejection […]

22 Jan 2011 Fabrizio Foschini • Political Landscape

Guest Blog: Afghanistan on stage in Germany

In our events column, we had announced a new theatre performance in the German town of Potsdam, not far from Berlin, dealing with Afghanistan which opened on 12 January. Now we offer the personal impressions of Kathrin Ost(*), a young and promising German actress, who attended the opening performance. What do I know about Afghanistan? […]

21 Jan 2011 Kathrin Ost • Context and Culture

The President’s Verdict: No Parliament till mid-February

On a remarkably busy winter day, the dreams of many former participant in the past September elections to take up her/his job in Parliament soon were shattered by the President’s ruling to delay the house’s inauguration for another month. Meanwhile, the opposite hopes of a multitude of ‘disappointed candidates’ – i.e. the losers of 18 […]

20 Jan 2011 Fabrizio Foschini • Gran Hewad • Thomas Ruttig • Political Landscape

26 January 2011 Chatham House: No Shortcut to Stability

The authors of ‘No Shortcut to Stability: Justice, Politics and Insurgency in Afghanistan’ – AAN’s Senior Analyst Kate Clark and independent analyst Stephen Carter – will be speaking about the report at an event at Wednesday Chatham House on 26 January 2011. The Asia Programme meeting will take place at Chatham House, 10 St James’s […]

20 Jan 2011 AAN • admin • Events

Kabul – Tunis

The support for elections and the democratic movement in Tunisia promised by the EU and EU member governments seems to concentrate more on process than on content of elections. This sounds familiar from an Afghan angle. AAN’s Senior Analyst Thomas Ruttig was hoping that governments had learned from Afghanistan’s elections disasters – but hears the […]

19 Jan 2011 Thomas Ruttig • Political Landscape

Tactical or genuine? The Taleban’s ‘new education policy’

This time, the Times Education Supplement (TES) has the latest scoop about the Taleban. The article with the headline ‘Taliban “backs girls’ education”’ has already been picked up around the world. But it is worth to look at the source of the sensational statement. It is not from Mulla Omar’s ‘Quetta shura’ but from Kabul’s […]

15 Jan 2011 Thomas Ruttig • War and Peace

Flash from the Past: … but not without snow

Ten years ago, AAN’s senior analyst Kate Clark was reporting on the first snow of the 2000/2001 winter for the BBC from Kabul which, then, was still ruled by the Taleban; people then were hoping a horrific drought would finally be breaking. An estimated twelve million Afghans had been hit by crop failure, many were […]

13 Jan 2011 Kate Clark • War and Peace

Building for Eternity? The Issue of the US Afghan Bases (amended)

Will the US really withdraw (most of its) its troops – those who will not be rebranded ‘trainers’ and advisors’ like in Iraq – by 2014? Is general Petraeus following his own timeline? For sure, the US is planning to keep (some of) its bases in Afghanistan, and it is expanding them rapidly. A US […]

13 Jan 2011 Thomas Ruttig • War and Peace

Guest Blog: Legal Pluralism – Decentralization of the Rule of Law?

The discussion about how Afghanistan’s legal system should work and its three components – state, customary and Islamic law (sharia) – should relate to each other has been going on ever since 2001, without a clear result. Even the constitution leaves loopholes that are reflected in the legal practice. Currently, the Afghan government works on […]

13 Jan 2011 Michael Daxner • Rights and Freedoms