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.

“I, Mulla Omar”: Two takes on the Taleban leader’s Eid message

Thomas Ruttig •

It has become a regular exercise by now: Taleban leader Mulla Muhammad Omar addressing “our pious people” on the occasion of religious and national holidays. As this year’s Eid al Fitr message again plays some conciliatory strings – except towards the government in Kabul and its foreign military allies – many have argued that deeds […]

War and Peace Read more

Happy Eid! And ten stories of celebrations and customs from all over the country

AAN Team •

Finally, after a month of dawn-to-sunset fasting, Eid al Fitr approaches, the Feast of the Breaking the Fast. The country will slow down significantly, Afghans take three to seven days off, the men go for Eid prayers, and for once there will be (hopefully) more play than politics. But Eid is more than that. There […]

Context and Culture Read more

Can Kabul Carry Two Melons in One Hand? Afghanistan and Iran sign strategic cooperation document

Thomas Ruttig •

Almost unnoticed by the international media, Afghanistan and Iran have signed a “Strategic Cooperation Agreement” during President Karzai’s recent trip to Tehran. The document includes provisions on bilateral military, intelligence and economic cooperation. The sequence indicates importance; the agreement is mainly a security agreement. However, it also contains ideas for a number of trilateral extensions […]

Regional Relations Read more

Safar ba London: Afghan youths on the move

Assunta Nicolini •

In the last decade, Afghanistan has produced the largest number of asylum seekers in Europe. Many of them are unaccompanied minors. For her doctoral studies, AAN guest author Assunta Nicolini carried out an in-depth study among Afghans migrating to the UK, summarizing some of her findings for this dispatch. She looks at why families decide […]

Migration Read more

“You Must Have a Gun to Stay Alive”: Ghor, a province with three governments

Obaid Ali •

For many, Ghor is a blank spot on the map. Not much is reported from this large, mountainous province in the west of Afghanistan, but that does not mean it is a quiet place. Thousands of armed men led by criminals and “freelance” commanders, as well as a growing number of Taleban, roam Ghor’s districts. […]

War and Peace Read more

The Sane Heartland of Afghanistan: a visit to Ghor’s Lal wa Sarjangal district

Kate Clark •

Ghor is currently the subject of a series of dispatches by AAN’s Obaid Ali in which he describes the province’s multitudinous problems, not just threats from the Taleban, but also a host of other armed militias, their leaders entangled with the government, fighting each other and predating on the people. The one recurring bright spot […]

War and Peace Read more

President Rouhani’s Election: Potential impact on Iran’s relations with Afghanistan

Bruce Koepke •

On 3 August 2013, Hassan Rouhani, the seventh president of the Islamic Republic of Iran will be officially endorsed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and inaugurated by the Majlis, Iran’s parliament, the following day. AAN Guest Author Bruce Koepke explores the potential impact of his Presidency on Iran’s relations with Afghanistan, in the aftermath […]

Regional Relations Read more

War Intensifies with More Civilian Casualties: the half-yearly UNAMA report

Kate Clark •

UNAMA’s six monthly report on how civilians are faring in the war (Mid-Year Report on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict) shows a reversal in last year’s trend of fewer civilian casualties. Comparing the first half of 2013 with the first half of 2012, a fifth more civilians were killed or injured in the fighting. […]

War and Peace Read more

A Hasty Process: New Independent Election Commission announced

Gran Hewad • Martine van Bijlert • Thomas Ruttig •

While the passing of the election-related laws took months, the selection and appointment of the crucial new Independent Election Commission (IEC) was finished within days. Although time was pressing, the haste raises doubts about the thoroughness of the process and the balance of the new nine-member body announced on Monday, 29 July 2013. AAN’s analysts […]

Political Landscape Read more

Mali, Afghanistan – Conflicts Worlds Apart? Parallels and Lessons to be Learnt

Thomas Ruttig •

When jihadist groups took over the northern half of Mali last year and French troops intervened in January this year, a discussion ensued in the media and among analysts about whether Mali was, or would become, a ‘second’ or ‘African’ Afghanistan. Most found a comparison ludicrous. With Mali’s presidential election coming up on today, 28 […]

International Engagement Read more

Afghanistan’s New Electoral Laws: Changes and red flags

Martine van Bijlert •

With last week’s ratification of the two electoral laws, Afghanistan finally knows which laws will govern its upcoming election. The new legislation clarifies how the elections are to be conducted, by whom and how they are to be appointed. Compared to the often tumultuous process that shaped them, the laws are fairly balanced and workable, […]

Political Landscape Read more

The ‘Other Guantanamo’ 6: Afghans still struggling for sovereignty at Bagram

Kate Clark •

It is exactly four months since the US military officially handed over its detention facility on Bagram Airbase to the Afghan Ministry of Defence. Whatever agreement was made between the two governments, it has never been made public. However, from speaking to detainees who have been released since the handover, AAN has been able to […]

Rights and Freedoms Read more

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