Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Special Reports

Special Reports – formerly known as thematic reports or briefing papers – are more substantive publications on subjects that are high on the policy agenda. Special Reports are all externally peer-reviewed.

The Ex-Taleban on the High Peace Council: A renewed role for the Khuddam ul-Furqan?

Thomas Ruttig •

AAN’s latest discussion paper by Thomas Ruttig provides a first analysis of the former Taleban members on the newly-established Afghan High Peace Council (HPC), of what their possible role may be in this body, their political and historical background as well as the development of their positions vis-à-vis a possible process of negotiations. An analysis […]

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Who Controls the Vote? Afghanistan’s Evolving Elections

Martine van Bijlert •

AAN’s latest report, by Martine van Bijlert, provides the first in-depth analysis of the 2009 provincial council elections and presents important clues on what the parliamentary vote on 18 September will look like. It argues that, contrary to what some internationals hope, the upcoming vote will again be messy, fiercely contested and manipulated at all […]

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How Tribal Are the Taleban? Afghanistan’s Largest Insurgent Movement between its Tribal Roots and Islamist Ideology

Thomas Ruttig •

The Taleban in Afghanistan should be treated as a primarily political movement with political aims, and not as a tribal one, concludes Thomas Ruttig, author of the new report ‘How Tribal Are the Taleban? Afghanistan’s Largest Insurgent Movement between Tribal Roots and Islamist Ideology,’ published today by AAN. Today’s Taleban movement has a double nature, […]

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The Northern Front: The Afghan Insurgency Spreading beyond the Pashtuns

Antonio Giustozzi • Christopher Reuter •

One of the key developments in Afghanistan during the last year is the expansion of insurgent activity in the northern region. The latest AAN briefing paper analyses this expansion and points to the crucial fact that the Taleban are expanding their constituency into non-Pashtun areas. The paper is authored by Antonio Giustozzi, prominent scholar of […]

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Local Defence in Afghanistan: A Review of Government-backed Initiatives

Mathieu Lefevre •

In this latest AAN report, Mathieu Lefèvre unpacks the myths about local defense initiatives in Afghanistan. His analysis of three local defense initiatives shows the contradictions in the claimed successes and points at possible long-term security challenges posed by these initiatives. In this report, Mathieu Lefèvre analyses three local defense initiatives in Afghanistan: The Afghanistan […]

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Nation-Building Is Not for All; The Politics of Education

Antonio Giustozzi •

In this AAN report Afghanistan scholar Antonio Giustozzi explores the deeply political and contentious history of education in Afghanistan. The report discusses the development of state education over the last 90 years in the context of nation-building, and touches on a series of crucial issues, including the role of religion; the priority of government concerns […]

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Golden Surrender: The Risks, Challenges, and Implications of Reintegration in Afghanistan

Matt Waldman •

The reintegration of former fighters is one of the main pillars in the unfolding counterinsurgency strategy. It is however more complex and difficult to accomplish than is commonly appreciated. In this paper Matt Waldman (fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University) explores the obstacles to a successful reintegration programme. These […]

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Two Interventions: Comparing Soviet and US-led state-building in Afghanistan

Martin Kipping •

Although there is a broad consensus that building a capable and legitimate state is key to success in Afghanistan, there has been little systematic comparison between the current US-led intervention and the Soviet state-building intervention that took place between 1979 and 1989. This paper aims to remedy that by analysing the trajectories of both interventions. […]

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The AfPak Strategy: Reactions in Pakistan

Karl Fischer •

Viewing Pakistan in a historical and geostrategic context, this paper by eminent Pakistan and India expert Karl Fischer highlights those aspects of the new United States strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan (formerly termed ‘the AfPak Strategy’) that are more relevant for Pakistan and shows predominant Pakistani reactions to these issues. The selection is limited to […]

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Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: Pakistan in 2010

Ann Wilkens •

While the world is discussing strategies to exit Afghanistan, the crisis in neighbouring Pakistan is deepening. What the silent majority of Pakistanis voted for in the elections of February 2008 – a secular democracy – is proving elusive. The army has since reemerged as a major political actor and the Taleban are gaining ground. This […]

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Governance in Afghanistan in Regional Perspective

Dr Christian Wagner •

In discussions about governance and reforms in Afghanistan, the regional dimension – and in particular Afghanistan’s relative position in comparison with its neighbouring countries – is often neglected. In this paper Dr. Christian Wagner, head of the Asia Research group at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (Berlin), compares Afghanistan to other South […]

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The State of the Afghan State

Anders Fange •

In this paper, Anders Fänge, AAN member and Country Director of the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, gives his views on where Afghanistan stands, what went wrong and what can be done – in this third attempt of government-driven ambitious and wide-ranging national reform programmes within a hundred years that caused a major armed rebellion. Anders […]

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