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What Q3 security risks should companies expect and prepare for?

Essential Geopolitics: An Overview of RANE's Q3 Forecast

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Qatar

Qatar's then deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani (center), speaks during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in Washington D.C. on Feb. 10, 2023. 

The meeting suggests the Taliban may be willing to compromise on some issues, but such talks are unlikely to yield significant change in Afghanistan anytime soon. 

What to Make of the Rare Meeting Between the Taliban’s Leader and Qatar's Prime Minister

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

Essential Geopolitics: Recent Security Developments in Afghanistan

Cambodia

Uzbekistan

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Kyrgyzstan

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

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

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. 

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

China's new ambassador to Afghanistan, Zhao Sheng, presented his credentials to Taliban Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund, Reuters reported on Sept. 13.

Afghanistan: New Chinese Ambassador Highlights Continued Engagement With Taliban

In a meeting with Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, an official of Afghanistan's Taliban-led government said, "we intend to activate the advanced camera system in every province of Afghanistan," Ariana News reported on Aug. 15.

Afghanistan: China's Huawei Agrees to Help Taliban Install CCTV Systems in All Provinces

A persistent nationwide drought is challenging Afghanistan's economy and food security, worsening the country's humanitarian crisis, Reuters reported on Aug. 14.

Afghanistan: Drought, Funding Shortfalls Threaten to Worsen Humanitarian Crisis

The Afghan Taliban's Ministry of Industry and Commerce announced the signing of more than $100 million of private sector contracts between Afghanistan and Kazakhstan amid the Taliban's visit to Kazakhstan's capital Astana for an Aug. 3-5 business forum, the Khaama Press News Agency reported on Aug. 3.

Afghanistan, Kazakhstan: More Than $100M of Private Sector Contracts Signed

Indonesia

Malaysia

An unnamed Taliban source claimed a mid-level Taliban delegation visited Indonesia and Malaysia sometime in mid-July to "improve relations" with the countries, Nikkei Asia reported on July 25.

Afghanistan: Taliban Delegation Reportedly Visits Indonesia, Malaysia

The Taliban have brought opium poppy cultivation levels in Afghanistan down to unprecedented levels since the group imposed its poppy ban in April 2022, according to a June 6 report published by the geographic information services company Alcis and analyst David Mansfield.

Afghanistan: New Report Shows Taliban's Success in Slashing Opium Poppy Cultivation

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

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A view of the Register in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

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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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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.

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Mir Castle in the Minsk region of Belarus.

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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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<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: New Chinese Ambassador Highlights Continued Engagement With Taliban

Afghanistan: China's Huawei Agrees to Help Taliban Install CCTV Systems in All Provinces

Afghanistan: Drought, Funding Shortfalls Threaten to Worsen Humanitarian Crisis

Afghanistan, Kazakhstan: More Than $100M of Private Sector Contracts Signed

Afghanistan: Taliban Delegation Reportedly Visits Indonesia, Malaysia

Afghanistan: New Report Shows Taliban's Success in Slashing Opium Poppy Cultivation

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

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