Our Afghanistan research aims to capture the altered dynamics of the Afghan conflict and opportunities for advancing peace locally and nationally.

In the wake of the collapse of the Republic, the Taliban have re-established their Islamic Emirate by force. There are increasing signs that the Emirate is unstable: different Afghan groups are mobilising to resist Taliban rule, violently and non-violently; violent clashes continue between the Taliban and ISKP; structural violence is expanding and evolving across the country; humanitarian and economic crises are escalating; and divisions within the Taliban are deepening.

Track and monitor the implementation of peace and transition processes for Afghanistan via the PA-X Tracker.

PeaceRep’s research on Afghanistan explores how dialogue and international policy-making can contribute strategically to stability and promoting plural and peaceful political transition in Afghanistan in the short- and long-term. Central to this approach is bringing together diverse Afghan perspectives and actors engaged on Afghanistan in order to develop a shared understanding of the challenges and opportunities ahead, explore different scenarios, and the tensions and synergies between interactions in different policy arenas (humanitarian, human rights, and political), and identify recommendations for the way forward.

PeaceRep’s research includes two practice-oriented projects on Afghanistan:

1. The Conflict and Civicness Research Group at LSE IDEAS, in collaboration with the Civic Engagement Project (CEP) is establishing an Afghanistan Research Network (ARN) that convenes a group of more than 20 Afghan experts and activists from a diverse range of backgrounds across seven countries. Members will review and assess comparative learning on Afghanistan with a focus on producing policy-relevant research while preserving expertise, strengthening peacebuilding capacities, and identifying constructive steps for supporting the Afghan people and future pathways for stability. The ARN is a modest first step to preserve, sustain and amplify Afghan expertise and knowledge in order to better understand Afghanistan’s interlocking crises, and provide analysis that can inform creative actions in the short-term and help shape future prospects for a more stable and pluralistic Afghanistan in the long-term. A series of reflections from Afghan experts will provide recommendations on how to approach key challenges in the current context in Afghanistan, including on the the economy, security and human rights.
2. Conciliation Resources is working with international and Afghan researchers to generate insights relevant to the design and the support of the next phase of an Afghan peace process: investigating the dynamics of the ongoing conflict; 2) documenting new Afghan thinking on strategies for advancing sustainable peace; 3) mapping political actors and constituencies capable of contributing to a post-Taliban inclusive peace settlement. The key vehicle to enable the delivery of these research components is an informal national dialogue. A series of Accord Spotlight publications will present policy-relevant findings drawn from Afghan perspectives on peace-making and political transition in Afghanistan.

PeaceRep’s Afghanistan work is underpinned by our Peace and Conflict Resolution Tracker, a new data dashboard which brings together different types of data and information to monitor peace and transition agreement implementation. The components of the interface are intended to facilitate new ways of seeing conflict and also potential opportunities for settlement.  The tracker includes a timeline of formal change processes since 1990; an overview of past formal settlement agreements, drawn from the PA-X Peace Agreements Database; and an overview of recent changes in the peace and conflict landscape through high-level metrics.

Team

PeaceRep’s Afghanistan work is led by Conciliation Resources and the LSE Conflict and Civicness Research Group, in collaboration with the Civic Engagement Project and the Institute for Development and Economic Affairs (IDEA).

The research team is led by Alexander Ramsbotham (Conciliation Resources), Marika Theros (LSE), and Sahar Halaimzai (LSE).

For more information or to discuss opportunities for future research and analysis with ARN researchers, please contact Marika Theros.