Author: Safiullah Taye
Affiliation: Deakin University (Burwood, Australia)
Organization/Publisher: Middle East Critique/ Routledge
Date/Place: October 12, 2021/ Brussels, Belgium
Type of Literature: Journal Article
Number of Pages: 21
Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/19436149.2021.1989554
Keywords: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Taliban, Civil war
Brief:
In August 2021, the US completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan. As a result, the Ghani regime collapsed due to rapid advances of the Taliban from all sides of Kabul. Moreover, the Afghan National Army (ANA) dismantled and left to neighboring states. The article analyzes the difficulties the Taliban might face in maintaining sustainable peace in Afghanistan. The political culture of the state is fragile and overwhelmed with fragmented ethnicities. The two-decades-long rule by Karzai and Ghani regimes transformed an already chaotic environment into a polarized arena. Furthermore, some political factions have their own militias—a barrier in maintaining the writ of the state across Afghanistan. Meanwhile, apparent disagreements between the Doha office and Kabul regime of the Taliban reflect growing divisions inside the group. The article concludes that it will be difficult for the Taliban to take onboard all ethnicities of Afghanistan, therefore more chaos and turmoil is inevitable.
By: Muhammad Taimoor Bin Tanveer, CIGA Senior Research Associate
