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  • 1 Mar 2025
    • Afghanistan War
    • Russia
    • Ukraine
    • United States

    Trump strong-arms Zelenskyy: Afghans have seen these tactics before

    Shadi Khan Saif
    US talks with the Taliban during Trump 1.0 undercut the nascent Afghan democracy in favour of a “deal”.
  • 28 Jul 2023
    • Afghanistan
    • Afghanistan War
    • Review

    Far from the limelight, forgotten Afghans continue the fight

    Melissa Jardine
    Accounts from Kabul hold lessons on how easily the world moves on, and some takeaways for Ukraine.
  • 6 May 2022
    • Asylum seekers and refugees
    • Afghanistan War
    • Australian immigration
    • Afghanistan
    • Human rights

    Australia can stand up for the Afghan people, and the time is now

    Ahmad Shuja Jamal
    Canberra should signal to the world that we’re all better off in a community of nations where human dignity matters.
  • 31 Dec 2021
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan

    Taliban takeover – Best of The Interpreter 2021

    The Interpreter
    The US withdrawal was telegraphed months beforehand, but the speed of the Taliban advance still came as a shock.
  • 29 Nov 2021
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan

    The Doha accord and Taliban legitimacy

    Syed Fazl-e-Haider
    Afghanistan’s new government has a full deck of cards to play in the security concerns of regional neighbours. 
  • 10 Sep 2021
    • Al Qaeda
    • Afghanistan War
    • Iraq War
    • Terrorism

    The many consequences of a clear blue day on 11 September, 2001

    Lydia Khalil
    The butterfly effect of the global war on terror has had far-reaching impacts on the freedoms it was meant to defend.
  • 9 Sep 2021
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan
    • Australia

    An Afghan test leaves Australia’s principles wanting

    Edmond Roy
    A cricket match offered a field to engage on rights issues but instead the government further isolated the Taliban.
  • 7 Sep 2021
    • Afghanistan War
    • Terrorism
    • Afghanistan

    The evolving Taliban-ISK rivalry

    Amira Jadoon , Andrew Mines , Abdul Sayed
    With the US withdrawal, the Taliban must decide if cooperating with an old enemy could risk losing to a new one.
  • 6 Sep 2021
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan
    • Türkiye

    Turbulence, the Taliban, and Turkey’s role in Afghanistan’s future

    Iain MacGillivray
    A role supporting operations at Kabul airport looks to offer Recep Tayyip Erdoğan more risks than rewards.
  • 26 Aug 2021
    • Pacific Islands
    • Afghanistan
    • Afghanistan War
    • India
    • Australia
    • Trade

    Economic diplomacy: After Kabul, Australia looks to India

    Greg Earl
    Australia has a lower war-to-aid ratio, but the US is more transparent about its failure against the Taliban.
  • 26 Aug 2021
    • Diplomacy
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan
    • Australia
    • International law

    What’s in a name? The Taliban and recognition under international law

    Donald R Rothwell
    Formal recognition as a legitimate government may be a bargaining chip to press the Taliban to respect human rights.
  • 25 Aug 2021
    • Asia
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan
    • China

    Afghanistan holds lessons for American power in Asia

    Sam Roggeveen
    The US will one day ask the same question about its presence in Asia that it did of Afghanistan: is it still worth it?
  • 24 Aug 2021
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan
    • India

    India fears a poison harvest from Afghanistan

    Aarti Betigeri
    The Taliban takeover forces a regional realignment and has left New Delhi wondering about its past investment.
  • 23 Aug 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan

    The world must evacuate women police in Afghanistan

    Melissa Jardine
    The international community trained local women to put their lives on the line but has now abandoned them to danger.
  • 19 Aug 2021
    • United States
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan

    Decoding intelligence on Afghanistan

    Ben Scott
    An official inquiry should answer much wider questions about the US mission than only those of the final few weeks.
  • 18 Aug 2021
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan
    • India
    • Pakistan

    Afghanistan’s collapse shifts strategic dynamics in South Asia

    Stuti Bhatnagar
    If the Taliban’s return is seen a plus for Pakistan, India appears to be the loser.
  • 17 Aug 2021
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan
    • Migration
    • Human rights
    • Sex and Gender

    What to do after the Taliban take-over

    Susanne Schmeidl
    The foreign troops might be gone but Afghanistan is still our responsibility.
  • 16 Aug 2021
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan

    Kabul has fallen and so have we

    Edmond Roy
    Defeat in Afghanistan is not only a military one, but of the commitment professed by the “international community”.
  • 16 Aug 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan

    Afghanistan: the right time to leave

    Rodger Shanahan
    There was no “low cost” solution for the United States other than endless conflict.
  • 10 Aug 2021
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan
    • Russia

    Afghanistan: Russia faces its own risks and uncertainty

    Ian Hill
    Regional instability, refugee flows, extremism, and zero appetite for warfare temper Russia’s stance on Afghanistan.
  • 5 Aug 2021
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan
    • Pakistan

    Is Pakistan fuelling a Taliban takeover?

    Hussain Nadim
    The Afghan government points a finger at Pakistan in a tactic to divert attention from its own colossal failures.
  • 3 Aug 2021
    • Afghanistan War
    • The Biden Presidency

    Man on a mission: Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan

    Erin Hurley
    The removal of US troops from Afghanistan was in Joe Biden’s sights long before he was president. But what next?
  • 13 Jul 2021
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan
    • Australia
    • Migration

    Afghanistan, Australia and the visa conundrum

    Rodger Shanahan
    What responsibility does the government have for those on the periphery of the Australian campaign in Afghanistan?
  • 12 Jul 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan

    Abandoning Afghanistan won’t bring peace

    Nishank Motwani
    The pledge of a “a responsible end” to America’s involvement in Afghanistan’s war will likely have the opposite effect.
  • 22 Jun 2021
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan
    • Sex and Gender

    Standing with Afghanistan: Inclusion and women’s rights in peace talks

    Jacqui True , Azadah Raz Mohammad , Felicity Gerry , Jenna Sapiano
    Australia, and the world, must insist that negotiations safeguard women’s rights, else talk of peace will be empty.
  • 29 Mar 2021
    • United States
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan

    An interim government would bring ruin to Afghanistan

    Nishank Motwani
    A US proposal to dissolve the Afghan administration risks a tragic repeat of the past.
  • 23 Feb 2021
    • United States
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan

    Afghanistan: To leave or not to leave

    Syed Fazl-e-Haider
    Under the Doha deal, US forces are meant to be out of the country in mere weeks. Either way, peace appears far off.
  • 7 Dec 2020
    • Defence & Security
    • Afghanistan War
    • Australian Defence Force
    • Australia

    The Afghan inquiry and the question of responsibility

    Rodger Shanahan
    Agitating for a big scalp only distracts from reflecting on what the Brereton report actually uncovered.
  • 20 Nov 2020
    • Defence & Security
    • Afghanistan War
    • Australian Defence Force
    • Afghanistan
    • Australia

    Australia’s mission in Afghanistan – what was it again?

    Daniel Flitton
    Nothing can reduce the responsibility of individuals. But the political context for a “forever war” is relevant, too.
  • 10 Nov 2020
    • United States
    • Afghanistan War
    • War Crimes
    • United Nations

    A chance for the US to change its tune on justice

    Shannon Maree Torrens
    Will American hostility to the International Criminal Court, and exception from it, shift under a Biden administration?
  • 7 May 2020
    • United States
    • Afghanistan War
    • Terrorism
    • Afghanistan
    • Central Asia
    • Russia

    With US Afghan exit, Russia eyes Central Asian security

    Azima Akhmatova
    An unstable Afghanistan threatens all kinds of trouble for its neighbours. For Russia, it may be a golden opportunity.
  • 12 Dec 2019
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan

    Afghan peace is elusive but not impossible

    Susanne Schmeidl
    With the renewed possibility of talks between the government and the Taliban, how can they be set up to succeed?
  • 18 Sep 2019
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan

    Afghanistan – what’s next?

    Susanne Schmeidl , Astri Suhrke
    Talks or not, none of the scenarios for the immediate future of Afghanistan are good.
  • 1 Feb 2019
    • United States
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan

    US, Taliban, Afghanistan peace talks: timing is critical

    Mohib Iqbal
    <p>Should the US agree to a full pull-out of its troops, Afghanistan may fall into the chaos of the past.</p>
  • 28 Aug 2017
    • Afghanistan War
    • The Trump Presidency

    Trump’s Afghanistan policy: Best in 16 years

    Jim Molan
    The Afghanistan Army, if widely mentored and well supported by its own intelligence and air and ground fire support, could have a significant effect on the Taliban in one to two years.

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