In September, Afghanistan and the Taliban began conducting peace negotiations to plan a road map for the country’s future after the withdrawal of United States forces. A key challenge for this process is the status of Afghanistan’s current constitution—and the different perspectives on Islamic law and governance that the two parties bring to the table.
This report by Barnett Rubin, director of CIC’s Afghanistan Regional Program, explores some of the constitutional questions that are likely to arise in the course of the negotiations. As the report notes, both sides claim to abide by Islamic law and principles of governance, but they interpret them in different ways. The report places these issues in historical context and provides suggestions for how the peace process might approach and resolve them.
The report was published by the United States Institute of Peace in partnership with CIC.
Download the full report here.
