This Policy Brief has been produced by the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies (CHS). The document is produced under the the Afghanistan Research and Policy Initiative (ARPI).
ARPI is a strategic project that aims to foster dialogue, research, knowledge production, and policy recommendations on Afghanistan and its regional dynamics.
The strategic significance of Afghanistan as a conduit between Central, South, and West Asia regions remains critical, even as global attention has shifted to other current crises, such as Israel's war in Gaza, the Ukraine war, and the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria – to name only a few. As the Taliban regime marks three years in power since returning to rule Afghanistan in August 2021, the country faces entrenched challenges — weak infrastructure, economic stagnation, climate change, migration crises, and governance deficits — that extend beyond the Taliban's capacity to address them independently. These pressing problems, exacerbated by the legacy of past external interventions and policy mistakes, jeopardise the pursuit of long-term peace in Afghanistan, threaten regional stability, and highlight the necessity for sustained international engagement.
Despite a shared understanding among regional actors and a growing acknowledgement internationally that engagement with the Taliban is crucial, not least to avert state collapse and a relapse into violent instability, Western donor states and international stakeholders have struggled to establish meaningful pathways for sustainable dialogue. Initiatives aimed at constructing a viable engagement framework are also impeded by the Taliban's hierarchical structure and its hesitance to interact with external parties or non-Taliban Afghan stakeholders. Confronted by such multilayered complexities, identifying practical entry points for dialogue and fostering a process acceptable to all stakeholders is crucial to addressing Afghanistan's socioeconomic, political, and security challenges while supporting regional stability.
This policy brief examines two specific themes: the theorising of state and governance under the Taliban, and the challenges of preserving key civilian institutions in the country amidst diverse and interconnected challenges. It is part of efforts to conceive actionable policy options and deliver evidence-based analysis on Afghanistan.
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