The Afghan Peace Building Process: Problems and Prospects

Muhammad  Azam

doi:10.54418/ca-94.216

Authors

Muhammad Azam Assistant Professor, Department of Politics and International Relations, Sargodha University, Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54418/ca-94.216

Keywords:

Peace process, peace negotiations, peacebuilding, the web approach, Afghanistan, achievements of the Afghan peace process, Doha Agreement

Abstract

At the beginning of the U.S.-Afghan war in 2001, none of the parties involved was willing to talk to each other. Over time, however, the need for peace negotiations became apparent, and a peace process slowly gained momentum in 2004. Although the Taliban militarily captured Kabul in 2021, one of the outcomes of the peace process was the Doha Peace Agreement signed by the United States and the Afghan Taliban, in which the latter guaranteed that they would not allow Afghan territory to be used against the United States. In addition, the peace process reached several milestones over the years. This article aims to analyze the achievements of the peace process in light of the web approach proposed by Lederach.

References

Abbas, Hassan. The Taliban Revival: Violence and Extremism on the Pakistan-Afghanistan Frontier. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2014.

Abram, David. The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World. New York: Vintage, 1997.

AFP. “Terror Threat Has Been ‘Moved’ from Afghanistan: US.” Dawn, April 19, 2021.

Al-Jazeera. “Afghan Taliban Announces Eid Ceasefire for First Time since 2001,” June 9, 2018. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/06/afghan-taliban-announces-eid-ceasefire-time-180609055631419.html.

AP. “Taliban Urge Afghans to Boycott Polls.” Dawn, October 9, 2018.

———. “UN’s New Afghan Envoy Heartened by Talk of Peace.” Khaleej Times, January 25, 2012. https://www.khaleejtimes.com/world/uns-new-afghan-envoy-heartened-by-talk-of-peace.

Bascia, Nina, Alister Cumming, Amanda Datnow, Kenneth Leithwood, and David Livingstone. International Handbook of Educational Policy. Vol. 13. Springer, 2005.

Basit, Abdul, Sara Mahmood, Iftekharul Bashar, and Mohammed Sinan Siyech. “South Asia: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India.” Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses 10, no. 1. Annual Threat Assessment (January 2018): 31–52.

Blaney, John W. “Lessons from Liberia’s Success: Thoughts on Leadership, the Process of Peace, Security, and Justice.” Prism 1, no. 2 (2010): 101–110.

Boone, Jon. “Afghan Government Must Talk to Insurgents, Says Peace Jirga.” The Guardian, June 4, 2010. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jun/04/afghan-peace-jirga-taliban.

Cavell, Megan. “Formulaic Fripuwebban: Reexamining Peace-Weaving in the Light of Old English Poetics.” The Journal of English and Germanic Philology 114, no. 3 (2015): 355–372. Accessed August 27, 2021. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/jenglgermphil.114.3.0355.

Cordesman, Anthony H. Afghanistan: The Peace Negotiations Have Become an Extension of War by Other Means. Washington, D.C.: Center for Strategic and International Studies, October 28, 2020.

Elshtain, Jean Bethke. “Exporting Feminism.” Journal of International Affairs 48, no. 2. Transcending National Boundaries (1995): 541–558.

Emmers, Ralf. “Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific: Evolution of Concepts and Practices.” In Asia-Pacific Security Cooperation: National Interests and Regional Order, edited by See Seng Tan and Amitav Acharya. New York and London, England: M.E. Sharpe, 2004.

———. “The Five Power Defence Arrangements and Defense Diplomacy in Southeast Asia.” Asian Security 8, no. 3 (2012): 271–286.

Fabra-Mata, Javier, and Muzhgan Jalal. “Female Religious Actors as Peace Agents in Afghanistan.” Journal of Peacebuilding & Development 13, no. 2 (August 2018): 76–90. Accessed August 27, 2021. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1080/15423166.2018.1472031.

Freire, Maria Raquel, and Paula Duarte Lopes. “Rethinking Peace and Violence: New Dimensions and New Strategies.” In Rethinking Peace and Security: New Dimensions, Strategies and Actors, edited by Paula Duarte Lopes and Stephen Villanueva Ryan, 13–30. Bilbao, Spain: Humanitarian Net, University of Deusto, 2009.

Gizzi, Michael C. The Web of Democracy: An Introduction to American Politics. Wadsworth, 2002.

Goode, Michael. “The Relevance of Peace in Early American History.” In The Spectre of Peace, edited by Michael Goode and John Smolenski, 1–29. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2018. https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004371682/BP000001.xml.

Graham-Harrison, Emma. “Release of US Soldier Bowe Bergdahl Revives Hopes for Afghan Peace Process.” The Guardian, June 1, 2014. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/01/release-us-soldier-bowe-bergdahl-afghan-peace-process-taliban.

Ho, Joshua H. “The Security of Sea Lanes in Southeast Asia.” Asian Survey 46, no. 4 (2006): 558–574.

Jarvis, W. Todd. Contesting Hidden Waters: Conflict Resolution for Groundwater and Aquifers. London and New York: Routledge, 2014.

Johnson, Kay, and Mehreen Zahra-Malik. “Taliban, Afghan Officials Hold Peace Talks, Agree to Meet Again.” Reuters, July 8, 2015. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-taliban-idUSKCN0PI0DX20150708.

Joshee, Reva, and Lauri Johnson. Multicultural Education in the United States and Canada: The Importance of National Policies. Vol. 10. 1007/1. Springer, 2005.

Kakar, Javed Hamim. “Taliban Announce 14-Member Team for Next Talks with US.” Pajhwok, February 12, 2019. https://pajhwok.com/2019/02/12/taliban-announce-14-member-team-next-talks-us/.

Koelbl, Von Susanne, and Holger Stark. “Germany Mediates Secret US-Taliban Talks.” Spiegel, May 24, 2011.

Kurt, Andrew. “Working toward Peace and Prosperity in Afghanistan, Review.” Digest of Middle East Studies 22, no. 1 (2013): 209–213.

Lederach, John Paul. The Moral Imagination: The Art and Soul of Building Peace. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.

MacIver, Robert Morrison. The Web of Government. Free Press, 1965.

Onditi, Francis, Gilad Ben-Nun, Edmond Maloba Were, and Israel Nyaburi Nyadera. Reimagining Security Communities: Systems Thinking Approach for Africa. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2021.

Phillips, Bernard, Harold Kincaid, and Thomas J. Scheff, eds. Toward a Sociological Imagination: Bridging Specialized Fields. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2002.

Pilster, Ulrich. “Afghanistan: Peace through Power-Sharing?” The Washington Quarterly 43, no. 1 (2020): 121–141.

Reuters. “Ghani Forms 12-Member Team to Negotiate with Taliban.” Dawn, November 29, 2018.

Rietjens, Sebastiaan, and Myriame Bollen. “Linking Provincial Reconstruction Teams to Security Enhancement in Afghanistan.” Journal of Peacebuilding & Development 3, no. 2 (March 2007): 79–83. Accessed August 27, 2021. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1080/15423166.2007.830326856977.

Sajjad, Baqir. “Afghan Peace Talks Begin amid Calls for Ceasefire.” Dawn, September 13, 2020.

———. “Taliban Chief Mullah Omar Endorses Talks with Afghan Govt.” Dawn, July 16, 2015.

Scheff, Thomas J. Goffman Unbound: A New Paradigm for Social Science. Routledge, 2006.

Shalizi, Hamid. “Afghanistan Announces Eid Ceasefire with Taliban until June 20.” Reuters, June 7, 2018. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-president-ceasefire/afghanistan-announces-ceasefire-with-taliban-until-june-20-iduskcn1j30o2.

Sheikh, Mona K., and Maja T. J. Greenwood. “The Reconciliation Process in Review.” In Taliban Talks: Past, Present and Prospects for the US, Afghanistan and Pakistan, edited by Mona K. Sheikh and Maja T. J. Greenwood. Copenhagen: Danish Institute for International Studies, 2013.

Tawana, Zahra, Ahmadullah Azadani, Sughra Azizi, Mihr Khoda Mehrzad, Mahdiya Erfani, and Zuhal Ahmadzai. “Afghan Peace on the Horizon? An Examination of Public Opinion on the Ongoing Peace Talks.” Asian Journal of Peacebuilding 9, no. 2. (Perspective) (2021): 357–382.

Teachers College, City College of the City University of New York. Conditions for the Possibility of Peace in the Horn of Africa. Proceedings, 4th International Conference on the Horn of Africa, May 26–28, 1989. New York: Center for the Study of the Horn of Africa, 1990.

Tierney, William G. The Web of Leadership. Stanford University, 1985.

Vavrus, Michael, Sherry Walton, Janice Kido, Elizabeth Diffendal, and Pauletta King. “Weaving The Web of Democracy: Confronting Conflicting Expectations for Teachers and Schools.” Journal of Teacher Education 50, no. 2 (April 1999): 119–30.

Wafula, Caleb. “The Role of SMEs in Peacebuilding in Kenya.” In Democratizing Public Governance in Developing Nations: With Special Reference to Africa, edited by Shamsul M. Haque, Anastase Shyaka, and Gedeon M. Mudacumura, 239–255. London and New York: Routledge, 2017.

Wardak, Ali, and Humayun Hamidzada. “The Search for Legitimate Rule, Justice and a Durable Peace: Hybrid Models of Governance in Afghanistan.” Journal of Peacebuilding & Development 7, no. 2 (August 2012): 79–88. Accessed August 27, 2021. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1080/15423166.2012.743823.

Wood, Houston. Invitation to Peace Studies. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016.

Wörmer, Nils. Exploratory Talks and Peace Initiatives in Afghanistan: Actors, Demands, Germany’s Role as Mediator. SWP Comments. Berlin: German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), December 2012.

“UK Holds Talks with Taliban.” Dawn, June 14, 2004.