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Afghanistan

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Military & Security

What risks does the Taliban face as the fighting season begins?

Essential Geopolitics: Recent Security Developments in Afghanistan

Turkey

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Tajikistan

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Economics

Politics

Central Asia is reemerging as a key region for trans-Eurasian trade, but not without complications.

Applied Geopolitics: Central Asia's Geopolitical Challenges

Assessments

Afghanistan's acting Deputy Prime Minister, Abdul Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, (L) and China's Ambassador to Afghanistan, Wang Yu, (R) attend a press conference to announce an oil extraction contract with a Chinese company in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Jan. 5, 2023.

Energy

China's investment in Afghanistan may be modest, but it is key to the South Asian nation's economic recovery.

The Future of Chinese Investment in Afghanistan

Pakistan

Learn how the rise of the extremist group Islamic State Khorasan Province is plaguing Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Essential Geopolitics: The Implications of Deteriorating Security in Afghanistan and Pakistan

United States

A delegation led by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) meets with a delegation led by Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari at the State Department in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 26, 2022.

Washington remains unlikely to substantially increase its economic involvement in the country, despite Islamabad's efforts to expand the countries' security-focused relationship.

After a Rocky Few Years, Pakistan Tries to Mend Ties With the U.S. 

A look at counterterrorism efforts in Afghanistan a year after the withdrawal of U.S. and coalition forces.

Essential Geopolitics: An Afghanistan Security Briefing

A 9/11 commemoration on Sept. 11, 2021, in New York. The risk of terrorism emanating from Afghanistan lives on despite more than two decades of U.S. efforts to quash it including the recent killing of al Qaeda mastermind Ayman al-Zawahiri.

In light of the 21st anniversary of 9/11, we re-feature two recent analyses on the state of Afghanistan today.

Afghanistan and Terrorism 21 Years After 9/11

Columns

On Security

A Taliban fighter (L) frisks men at a checkpoint after a blast during Friday prayers Sept. 2, 2022, in Gazargah mosque in Herat. Foreign states' limited abilities to counter terrorist groups in Afghanistan may allow the extremist threat there to swell again.

Foreign states' limited abilities to counter terrorist groups in Afghanistan may allow the extremist threat there to swell again.

Why Terrorist Groups in Afghanistan Could Be Poised for a Resurgence

Hundreds of villagers desperate for humanitarian aid wait for hours outside a government center to register on Dec. 6, 2021, in Charikar, Afghanistan. 

Social Issues

In the second part of this series, we explore the many threats the Taliban will face to their continued rule over the ethnically diverse, crisis-stricken country.

Reflecting on the Taliban's First Year Back in Power in Afghanistan, Part 2: The Challenges Ahead

Taliban fighters take to the streets during a national holiday celebrating the first anniversary of the group’s takeover on Aug. 15, 2022, in Kabul, Afghanistan. 

In the first part of this series, we explore the Taliban's success in securing political control, conducting diplomatic outreach, keeping the Afghan economy afloat, and creating relative security.

Reflecting on the Taliban's First Year Back in Power in Afghanistan, Part 1: Exceeding Expectations

Sub-Saharan Africa

Iraq

Syria

Al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab recruits walk down a street in the Somalian capital of Mogadishu following their graduation in March 2012. 

In the second part of this series, we explore al-Zawahiri's struggles to implement his ''far enemy'' strategy and whether his successor can return al Qaeda to its former prominence.

Al-Zawahiri's Legacy, Part 2: Will the al Qaeda Leader's Vision Outlive Him?

Ayman al-Zawahiri is seen on a television screen during a broadcast report. 

In the first part of this series, we explore the slain leader's ideological background and his role in taking the jihadist fight directly to the United States and other Western countries.

Al-Zawahiri's Legacy, Part 1: How the U.S. Became al Qaeda's Top Enemy

The Afghan Taliban and Pakistan agreed on May 7 to cooperate on issues of mutual concern, including by increasing trade and reducing tensions along their border, AP reported the next day.

Afghanistan, Pakistan: Afghan Taliban, Pakistan Seek to Boost Trade, Improve Relations

The head of the U.N. Development Program, Achim Steiner, said the United Nations is ready to pull out of Afghanistan in May if negotiations with the Taliban over the group's ban on female U.N. employees do not bear fruit, AP reported April 18.

Afghanistan: U.N. Weighs Options as Taliban Ban on Female U.N. Employees Persists

The Taliban-led acting government in Afghanistan asked spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid to shift his work base from the capital Kabul to Kandahar, a traditional founding place of the Taliban and supreme leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada's base of power, Al Jazeera reported on April 7.

Afghanistan: Taliban Spokesperson Told to Work From Kandahar in Potential Power Move by Supreme Leader

U.N. officials said Afghanistan's ruling Taliban banned the organization's female employees from working nationwide after the Taliban stopped female U.N. employees in the eastern province of Nangarhar from coming to work, AP reported on April 4.

Afghanistan: Taliban Banned Female U.N. Employees From Work

Officials associated with Afghanistan's Taliban-led administration assumed control of an Afghan consulate in Khorog, Tajikistan, Eurasianet reported on March 27.

Afghanistan: Taliban Takes Control of Minor Consulate in Tajikistan

The Afghan Taliban's acting Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani appeared to make veiled criticisms on Feb. 11 against the dominant, less pragmatic faction of the Taliban's leadership, describing the country's situation as intolerable and criticizing the movement for its inflexibility and alienation of the public, Ariana News reported Feb. 12.

Afghanistan: Taliban Interior Minister Levels Apparent Veiled Criticism of Hardliners, Current Situation

United Arab Emirates

Turkey and the United Arab Emirates are both planning to limit their diplomatic activities in Kabul amid unspecified security concerns, Khaama Press reported Feb. 8.

Afghanistan: Turkey, UAE Reportedly Plan to Limit Diplomatic Activities Amid Security Concerns

Multiple aid organizations, including the International Rescue Committee, Save the Children, and CARE International, resumed some of their suspended operations in Afghanistan after the Taliban's Ministry of Public Health said female employees of nongovernmental organizations in health and office support roles would be allowed to work, Reuters reported Jan. 17.

Afghanistan: Several Aid Groups Resume Some Operations After Taliban Assurances

Algeria

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A view of the Register in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Angola

Argentina

Armenia

Australia

Bahrain

Lithuania

Covering an area that spans the entire width of the continent beginning at the Sahara Desert and ending at the southernmost tip of South Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa is home to countless cultures, languages, religions, plants, animals and natural resources.

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Germany

The President palace in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

The administrative center of the Gakh region of Azerbaijan, located at the foot of the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus, on the river Kurhumchai.

Brazil

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Finland

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Mir Castle in the Minsk region of Belarus.

Cabo Verde

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A horse grazes in front of Kara-Kul lake in the Chon-Ak-Suu valley, 300 kilometers southeast of Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

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Mongolia

<p>Afghanistan is a landlocked country in South Asia bordering China, Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Spanning over 652,000 square miles, the majority-Muslim country&#39;s geography can be divided into the highlands, the northern plains and the southwestern plateau. Mountains are Afghanistan&#39;s dominant geographic feature, with the Hindu Kush range running at a southwestern angle and roughly dividing the country in half. The four most important cities are the capital Kabul in the east, Kandahar in the south, Herat in the west, and Mazar-i-Sharif in the north. Because of its location, the country functions as a bridge between energy-rich Central Asia and energy-deficient South Asia. Afghanistan&#39;s primary geographic challenge is resisting the intervention of outside powers while also maintaining authority over a mostly rural society spread across a rugged landscape. Afghanistan&#39;s location at the crossroads of the Middle East, Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent has historically invited external actors, resulting in a country containing diverse languages, cultures and ethnicities. Indeed, Afghan society includes significant populations of Pashtun, Tajiks, Turkmens, Uzbeks and Hazaras. Each of these groups share populations in a neighboring country, encouraging external involvement. The borders of modern-day Afghanistan were drawn during the 19th century to carve out a space between the British and Russian empires. Afghanistan&#39;s most contentious boundary is with Pakistan and is called the Durand Line. Afghanistan disputes the border, claiming that its true boundary should absorb Pakistan&#39;s Pashtun-majority region. This fuels the antagonism between the two countries and plays a role in Afghanistan&#39;s broader challenge of asserting sovereignty as outside actors try to advance their own interests.</p>

A member of the Taliban security personnel on March 21, 2023, in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan.

SITUATION REPORTS

Afghanistan, Pakistan: Afghan Taliban, Pakistan Seek to Boost Trade, Improve Relations

Afghanistan: U.N. Weighs Options as Taliban Ban on Female U.N. Employees Persists

Afghanistan: Taliban Spokesperson Told to Work From Kandahar in Potential Power Move by Supreme Leader

Afghanistan: Taliban Banned Female U.N. Employees From Work

Afghanistan: Taliban Takes Control of Minor Consulate in Tajikistan

Afghanistan: Taliban Interior Minister Levels Apparent Veiled Criticism of Hardliners, Current Situation

Afghanistan: Turkey, UAE Reportedly Plan to Limit Diplomatic Activities Amid Security Concerns

Afghanistan: Several Aid Groups Resume Some Operations After Taliban Assurances

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