Read more
This book offers a critical and forward-looking exploration of Afghanistan's most pressing challenges and future possibilities. It examines the current crises posed by the Taliban's return to power and the collapse of the Republic in August 2021 and maps a range of challenges and solutions that will shape the country's long-term future.
List of contents
Introduction: Knowledge Production on Afghanistan
PART I: POLITICS AND ECONOMICS1. Political Regimes, Contentious Politics, and the Future of Afghanistan
2. The Tragedy of Exclusionary Domination: Challenges in Afghanistan's Politics
3. Negotiating Peacemaking for a Post-Taliban Future
4. The Doha Agreement: A Path to Authoritarianism
5. Funding the State in Afghanistan
6. From Crisis to Resilience: Rethinking Aid Strategies for Afghanistan's Rural and Environmental Needs
7. Towards a New Horizon: The Future of Political and Administrative Systems in Afghanistan
PART II: HUMAN RIGHTS AND SECURITY8. Addressing Mass Atrocities in Afghanistan: Towards a Responsibility to Protect and Prosecute
9. Transformative Transitional Justice in Afghanistan
10. Women, Violence, and Law: A Critical Analysis of Women's Rights in Afghanistan
11. Protection of Minorities in Afghanistan
12. Beyond Bans: Examining Freedom of Expression in Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan through the Social Media Lens
PART III: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS13. Constitutive Mechanisms of Proxy War: Insights from Afghanistan's Conflicts
14. Geopolitics of Afghanistan: From Power Equilibrium to Hyperlandlockedness
15. Exploring the Prospect of Afghanistan as a Permanently Neutral State: A Historical Evaluation
About the author
Arif Saba is a Research Fellow at the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation (ADI), Deakin University. He completed his PhD in International Relations at Deakin University, where his research focused on dynamics of norm contestation in International Relations, specifically examining how rising powers contest human protection norms such as the Responsibility to Protect. Dr Saba's research focuses on rising powers and international order, international norms, and the international criminal justice system. His researched has appeared in leading academic journals, including
Journal of Contemporary China,
Global Studies Quarterly,
International Politics, and
International Peacekeeping.
Abbas Farasoo is a researcher at La Trobe University specializing in international security, contentious politics, and diplomacy. In addition to his academic career, he has served in key diplomatic and governmental roles, including as Deputy Director-General for Regional Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan and as Chargé d'Affaires at the Afghan Embassy in Australia. His research includes a Carnegie Corporation of New York-funded project on proxy wars in Syria and Afghanistan at Deakin University, and his work has been published in leading journals such as
International Studies Review and
Millennium: Journal of International Studies. Dr. Farasoo holds a PhD from Deakin University and an MA from the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.
Farkhondeh Akbari is a Research Fellow at Monash University where she conducts research on inclusive peace, diplomatic actors, foreign policy and the Women, Peace and Security agenda. She received her PhD in diplomatic studies from the Australian National University. Her publications include 'Geopolitical Narratives of Withdrawal and the Counter-Narrative of Women's Rights Activism in Afghanistan,' Global Studies Quarterly (2024), 'Bargaining with Patriarchy in Peacemaking,' Global Studies Quarterly (2024) and forthcoming books on
Women, Peace and Security in Afghanistan (2025) and
Peace Settlements with Non-State Armed Actors (Routledge, 2025).
Niamatullah Ibrahimi is a Senior Research Fellow at the Initiative for Peacebuilding of the University of Melbourne. His research interests include political violence, post-conflict political orders, social movements and contentious politics, and nationalism and ethnic politics. He has also worked for several leading think-tanks and international organisations, including the International Crisis Group and the Crisis States Research Centre of the London School of Economics. He is the co-author of (with William Maley)
Afghanistan: Politics and Economics in a Globalising State (Abingdon: Routledge, 2020).
