Afghanistan

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Afghanistan-Pakistan Regional Project
Afghanistan, South Asia

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Barnett Rubin
Tom Gregg

Public Lecture: Are China and the United States Rivals or Partners in Afghanistan?

CIC Director Dr. Barnett Rubin gave a lecture to students at Peking University on Monday, October 27th. In his talk, he explores the ways that cooperation in Afghanistan can positively contribute to the overall US-China relationship. He also highlights examples of where that cooperation is already taking place and proposes a number of areas that might be particularly fruitful for collaboration in the future.

Read the full lecture: Are China and the United States Rivals or Partners in Afghanistan?

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Oct 27, 2014
China, South Asia, Afghanistan
Afghanistan, South Asia
Afghanistan-Pakistan Regional Project

Is the Afghan Unity Government a Roadmap for Negotiations With the Taliban?

Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai was inaugurated as president of Afghanistan on Sept. 29, 2014, after a three-month-long dispute over the outcome of the June 14 runoff election. A Sept. 21 agreement between Ghani and runner-up Abdullah Abdullah provided for the establishment of a national unity government and created a new position: chief executive officer, held by Abdullah. It also contained long-term provisions to allow for permanently establishing the office of executive prime minister, institutionalizing the role created for Abdullah by decree.

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Oct 20, 2014
Barnett Rubin
South Asia, Afghanistan
Afghanistan-Pakistan Regional Project
Afghanistan, Fragile States, South Asia

America's Latest Orphan: Afghanistan. What Does the Future Hold for the Country?

Has America become accustomed to leaving orphans behind, following U.S. military interventions in foreign lands? With the approaching withdrawal of Western/American combat forces from Afghanistan, to be completed by the end of 2016, it is time to ask, what does the future hold for the most vulnerable group who would no longer be protected by the American shield?

CIC Director Dr. Barnett Rubin discussed these issues in a lecture co-hosted by the NYU Center for Dialogues and the Foreign Policy Association on October 6, 2014.

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Oct 06, 2014
Barnett Rubin
South Asia, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan-Pakistan Regional Project

Understanding the U.S. security agreement with Afghanistan

After months of waiting through a contested election, the U.S. has settled with Afghanistan’s new leadership on a security agreement for the transition toward Afghan security self-reliance. Former State Department official Barnett Rubin talks to Jeffrey Brown about whether President Ashraf Ghani will prove a reliable ally, as well as what we’ve learned from American involvement in Afghanistan.

Watch the full PBS NewsHour interview below "Understanding the U.S. security agreement with Afghanistan".

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Oct 01, 2014
Barnett Rubin
South Asia, Afghanistan
Afghanistan-Pakistan Regional Project
Afghanistan, South Asia

As Afghanistan Transitions, China Reconsiders its Stake

Afghanistan Transitions, China, Thomas Zimmerman

© Reuters/Lintao Zhang/Pool

In April 2013, China announced it would host the fourth Foreign Minister’s Meeting of the Istanbul Process on Afghanistan in 2014. That meeting, which will take place this August in Tianjin, will represent China’s most significant regional engagement on Afghanistan to date. China’s decision to host is part of a broader pattern of increased engagement, suggesting a shift in Beijing’s posture toward Afghanistan. China has indicated that it intends to become increasingly involved in discussions on the role of the region and international community after NATO’s combat mission ends in 2014.

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Apr 24, 2014
Thomas Zimmerman
China, United States, South Asia, Afghanistan
Fragile States, Post 2015 Development, South Asia
Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies

Strongman Governance and Afghan Politics, 2001 to Today

On April 9th, CIC Director Barnett Rubin sat down with author Dipali Mukhopadhyay to discuss her new book, Warlords, Strongman Governors, and the State of Afghanistan

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Apr 17, 2014
South Asia, Afghanistan
Afghanistan-Pakistan Regional Project
Afghanistan

The Election is the Enemy

The Taliban isn't attacking the Afghan army anymore -- they're trying to blow up the heart of Afghan politics.

Read the full Foreign Policy article here. 

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Apr 02, 2014
Barnett Rubin
South Asia, Afghanistan
Afghanistan-Pakistan Regional Project
Afghanistan, Fragile States

Afghanistan News: What Was the Point Of Taliban-Attended Paris Conferenc?

Given that the U.S. is slated to withdraw 34,000 troops of its 66,000 member force from Afghanistan by this time next year, any news regarding the political development of the nation is something policy makers will likely have their eye on.

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Mar 10, 2013
Center on International Cooperation, Alex Strick van Linschoten, Felix Kuehn
South Asia, Afghanistan
Afghanistan-Pakistan Regional Project
Afghanistan, Fragile States, International Security

How Do You Handle 70,000 Unemployed Afghan PSC? Very Carefully

Think of the Private Security Company (PSC) industry in Afghanistan as the canary in a coal mine. It (the PSC industry) is a bellwether of potential trouble ahead. Like Iraq, PSCs are linked to a privatized model of military and development contracting in a highly insecure post-invasion environment.

Read the full Huffington Post article here

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Nov 13, 2012
South Asia, Afghanistan
Afghanistan-Pakistan Regional Project
International Security, South Asia, Transnational Threats

Contracting the Commanders: Transition and the Political Economy of Afghanistan's Private Security Industry

Over the past decade the United States and the international community have funded an unprecedented private security industry in Afghanistan. As a result, this industry has become entangled with the Afghan political economy, as international spending has been implicated in funding informal armed groups and commanders. Considerable uncertainty remains as Afghanistan approaches the 2014 deadline for assuming national security responsibilities.

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Oct 11, 2012
Matthieu Aikins
South Asia, Afghanistan
Afghanistan, Fragile States, International Security, Transnational Threats
Afghanistan-Pakistan Regional Project