Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Reports

Reports – previously known as dispatches – are the flagship of the AAN website and our main type of publication. AAN reports are based on extensive desk and field research and provide timely and in-depth information and analysis.

A Joint ‘Durrani’ Candidate for President? After the Unity Jirga in Kabul

Thomas Ruttig •

Tribal elders from most areas of the country came together in an attempt to reduce the field of Pashtun, and among them the Durrani, candidates. The jirga ended in a duel between the two main contenders, both of them close to the president. The meeting remained open to interpretation, after an initial vote apparently met the […]

Political Landscape Read more

Flying after 2014: Which aircraft for the Afghan Air Force?

Gary Owen •

The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) have been mentored and trained by a largely United States force that is used to relying heavily on air support, a habit they have transferred to the Afghans. Until now, international air support has given Afghan forces an edge over the insurgency, but this year that support will be […]

War and Peace Read more

Cheating and Worse: The university entry (kankur) exams as a bottleneck for higher education

Obaid Ali •

Getting into university via the so called kankur exam is one of the highest hurdles for Afghanistan’s young generation wanting to obtain higher education. Each year, there are allegations of corruption, fraud and flawed management of the exams while the number of high school graduates sitting them increases. AAN’s Obaid Ali (with input by Christine […]

Economy, Development, Environment Read more

Past Is Prologue or: A tale of two Olympics

Anthony Agnello •

Shortly before a historic and emotionally laden Olympic hockey match between American and Russian athlets in 1980, the Soviet Union had invaded Afghanistan. The US, at that time, had actually already started its covert operation to support the mujahedin against the Soviet-backed regime in Kabul; it would be their fight that would finally lead to the Soviet withdrawal. In […]

Context and Culture Read more

Bomb and Ballot: The many strands and tactics of Hezb-e Islami

Thomas Ruttig •

Hezb-e Islami Afghanistan – known as Hezb-e Islami of Gulbuddin, or HIG, in the West – has (almost) declared support for its former chief negotiator with Kabul as a candidate for the 5 April 2014 presidential election. This comes less than a week after it claimed the latest suicide car bomb attack in Kabul that […]

Political Landscape Read more

A War with no End in Sight: The backlashes regarding Afghan women’s rights (amended)

Sari Kouvo •

A man cuts off the nose and lips of his wife. He does this because his wife refuses to give him her jewelry to buy drugs, and he does it in front of the couple’s children. This happened on 13 December in Herat, and rightly so, the incident received considerable media and civil society attention. […]

Rights and Freedoms Read more

Crossing the Bridge: The 25th anniversary of the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan

Thomas Ruttig •

It was the last hot conflict of the Cold War: the Soviet invasion and occupation of Afghanistan between Christmas 1979 and February 1989. 25 years ago today, the last Soviet soldiers left the country, defiantly waving their banners and insisting they had not lost. A truce with Ahmad Shah Massud, the main northern mujahedin leader, had […]

Context and Culture Read more

65 “Innocent” / “Dangerous” Detainees Released From Bagram: What secret documents say about Afghan and US claims

Kate Clark •

Today, Thursday, 13 February, the Afghan authorities have released 65 detainees from the Bagram Detention Facility. The Afghan government says they are “suffering innocents” who were illegally detained by the United States military. The US says they are dangerous men with Afghan or foreign blood on their hands who should be going to court, not […]

Rights and Freedoms Read more

Continuing Conflict Is Not Victory: What the 2013 UNAMA civilian casualties report tells us about the war

Kate Clark •

The conflict in Afghanistan is now overwhelmingly Afghan versus Afghan – this is one of the conclusions to be drawn from UNAMA’s 2013 Protection of Civilians report. 8,615 civilians were killed or wounded during 2013 and only three per cent of those by the international military forces. Counting deaths and injuries together, 2013 was more […]

Rights and Freedoms Read more

Re-plugging: The final list of presidential and vice-presidential candidates

Thomas Ruttig •

After some queries on social media and a check of several websites, including that of the Afghan Independent Election Commission,(1) there seems to be a lack of the complete final list of all tickets for the 5 April 2014 presidential election, particularly of the 11 contenders’ vice-presidential candidates. As a reference document, AAN’s co-director Thomas […]

Political Landscape Read more

The Takhar Case: London judge dismisses claim on targeted killings

Kate Clark •

A judge in London has decided that a case related to targeted killings in Afghanistan will not go forward to judicial review – the procedure by which a court judges the legality of a particular action or policy by the British state as it affects an individual claimant. The case which the judge dismissed focussed on the […]

Rights and Freedoms Read more

Money, Jobs and Mutton Soup: Pre-election discourses in a Herat township

S Reza Kazemi •

In Herat, campaign activity for Afghanistan’s crucial simultaneous presidential and provincial council elections began well before the official start on 2 February 2014, at least in parts of the city’s outskirts. The candidates are increasingly making themselves known to ordinary people and some presidential candidates have also been making initial appearances in local communities. Small […]

Political Landscape Read more

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