Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Christine Roehrs

Afghan Exodus: Migrants in Turkey left to fend for themselves

Christine Roehrs • Khadija Hossaini •

For Afghans seeking refuge or a new life in Europe, Turkey used to be a major migration transit hub. With routes through Turkey largely shut down after a refugee pact with the European Union in 2016, the country is now permanently hosting millions of refugees and migrants – among them possibly hundreds of thousands of […]

Migration Read more
Girls actually in the classroom. Getting Afghan children, especially girls, to school, has been considered a major success story for post-Taleban Afghanistan, but how many children appearing in the statistics are ‘ghosts'? (Photo: Christine-Felice Roehrs)

Less Money, More Conditionality? Stalled peace, Covid-19 and corruption foretell a sombre Afghanistan donor conference

Christine Roehrs • AAN Team • Ali Yawar Adili •

On 23 and 24 November, the 2020 donor conference for Afghanistan takes place, which for the country matters more than ever. Rumours abound about cuts to foreign assistance, at a time when Afghanistan faces a stalled peace process and intensifying poverty and violence. Donors are concerned about the shape of the future state and corruption, with the pressure […]

International Engagement Read more

Two Parties Too Wary for Peace? Central questions for talks with the Taleban in Doha

Christine Roehrs • Ali Yawar Adili • Sayed Asadullah Sadat •

For the first time, representatives of the Afghan government and the Taleban are coming together, officially and in person, to negotiate power-sharing and peace.  While the start of the talks was somewhat delayed by disagreements on the last prisoners to be released, the negotiating teams in Doha are now ready to go.  But there are big questions […]

War and Peace Read more

Young Technocrats Taking Over: Who are the new Afghan governors and what can they achieve?

Christine Roehrs • Qayoom Suroush •

Nearly one year into Ashraf Ghani’s presidency, about a quarter of the state’s highest representatives in the provinces are still missing – nine of 34 governors. So why the hold-up? AAN’s Christine Roehrs and Qayoom Suroush have been looking into the mechanisms of the process and found that the government seems to be able to […]

Political Landscape Read more

Too Few, Badly Paid And Unmotivated: The teacher crisis and the quality of education in Afghanistan

Qayoom Suroush • Christine Roehrs •

The progress in the education sector has been reported widely as one of the success stories of the national international efforts in Afghanistan since 2002. However, this narrative omits severe problems – one is that the teachers who are supposed to facilitate the rapid growth of the sector are still often ill-trained, ill-equipped, badly paid, […]

Economy, Development, Environment Read more

The Refugee Dilemma: Afghans in Pakistan between expulsion and failing aid schemes

Christine Roehrs •

Nearly 52,000 Afghans living in Pakistan have, within the past ten weeks, packed their belongings and crossed the border back into Afghanistan – more than twice as many as in the whole 12 months of 2014. This started after an attack of Pakistani Taleban on a public army school in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, on […]

Migration Read more

Return of the Goodwill? London conference as symbol of a new start

Christine Roehrs •

Initially, the upcoming London Conference on Afghanistan (3 and 4 December) was supposed to be a hard check on the Afghan leadership’s governance standards. Corruption, women’s rights, elections – how did the country do, and would it deserve fresh aid commitments? However, the new government to discuss these things is, except for president and CEO, […]

Economy, Development, Environment Read more

One Thousand Dollars for Books per Year: Afghanistan’s undersupplied universities

Christine Roehrs •

Afghan university students still do not have proper textbooks. Their professors give them so-called ‘chapters’ – copies of excerpts from lecture notes or books that are often out-dated. Libraries on the other hand remain underfunded dumping grounds for donated books that mostly do not fit needs, curricula or lecture contents. Why is that still so, […]

Economy, Development, Environment Read more

Another Red Line Crossed: The Taverna attack and the killing of foreigners just because they were foreigners (amended)

Christine Roehrs • Kate Clark •

The attack on the restaurant La Taverna du Liban, a favourite among Afghans and internationals in Kabul, has hit close to home for many working in and on Afghanistan. With 20 Afghans and foreigners killed while having dinner, it was one of the bloodiest and most ruthless strikes of the Taliban in years. This was an […]

War and Peace Read more

Shocks in a Lacklustre Speech: President Karzai addresses the jirga

Christine Roehrs • Kate Clark • Obaid Ali •

The consultative loya jirga, convened to scrutinise the Bilateral Security Agreement with the United States, has begun with a draft that was only agreed at the very last minute, confusion over the exact status and proceedings of the gathering and a lacklustre speech by President Karzai. The president made little attempt to really sell the […]

War and Peace Read more

On the Run without Aid: The much delayed policy on Afghanistan’s internally displaced

Christine Roehrs •

Much has been reported on the plight of Afghanistan’s internally displaced persons (IDPs), their miserable life in informal settlements, and their lack of access to income, education and health care. Actions, however, have been scarce, both nationally and internationally. They have been often humanitarian in nature only and mostly short term. This is also because the […]

Migration Read more

Guts, Prettily Coiled: A guide to Eid sacrifices

Christine Roehrs •

Today is Eid al Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice, the most important religious holiday in the Afghan calendar. In millions of yards across the country, Afghans will slit the throats of cows or sheep in remembrance of the Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail in submission to God’s command and of the lamb which […]

Context and Culture Read more

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