One Year After Afghanistan: A New Terror Landscape Emerges

The Taliban’s quick rise to power sparked “joy” and celebration amongst a variety of militant groups that admired the Taliban’s commitment to their ideological goals. The international community’s concerns that Afghanistan will become a safe haven for terrorist activity, as in the 2000s, remains steadfast. 

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Taliban Declares Total Ban on Poppy Cultivation

The cultivation of poppy is now strictly prohibited in Afghanistan, per a recent decree from the Taliban. The move comes amid the Taliban’s bid for formal international recognition, in which cessation of the Afghan drug trade has been a major impediment to the international community. 

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Afghan Drug Trade Threatens U.S. War on Drugs

Concerns regarding the impact on Afghanistan’s opium trade have been largely elusive from global conversations since the Taliban reclaimed control of Afghanistan last August, despite its prominence as a multi-billion dollar industry. Reuters reports the United States government has spent more than $8 billion in an unsuccessful effort to eradicate it. 

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A Looming Humanitarian Crisis Hands Turkey Bargaining Power in Europe

Following the Taliban’s capture of Afghanistan’s capital city, Kabul, on August 15, countries around the world are bracing for another mass migration of refugees. However, some leaders of Western European countries, such as, Germany and France—two of the most sought-after destinations by asylum seekers—are refusing to allow another migrant wave that resembles the Syrian refugee crisis in 2015.

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FOCUS on Afghanistan: Women

Since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s takeover of the country, many questions have arisen regarding women’s rights in the country. The Taliban announced that they would lead an inclusive government where women would work “shoulder to shoulder” with men, promising to govern differently than before, says Al Jazeera.

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FOCUS on Afghanistan: The Taliban

On Tuesday, September 21, the Taliban requested to address world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in New York and nominated Suhail Shaheen as Afghanistan’s UN ambassador, according to Reuters. This was one of many strategic efforts by the Taliban as it continues to woo world leaders in a bid for recognition as the official political authority in Afghanistan. Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates were the only countries that recognized the Taliban when it ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.

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School of Diplomacy Hosts a Panel of Experts to Discuss the Future of Afghanistan

On the eve of the 20th anniversary of September 11, the School of Diplomacy hosted a panel discussing the implications of the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan. The panel featured Professor Sara Bjerg Moller, also the event’s organizer and moderator, Professor Joseph Huddleston former Afghan Ambassador Sayed Jalal Karim, and the U.S. Institute of Peace’s (USIP) Andrew Watkins.

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