Menu

United States Institute of Peace

Home ▶ Events

Afghanistan in 2020: Is Peace Possible?

Date: Wednesday, April 25, 2018 / Time: 2:30pm - 4:30pm 

Center: Asia Center

Share This
Print the Page

The search for peace has become a central focus of Afghanistan policy in Washington and for Kabul. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani offered the Taliban constitutional reform and status as a legitimate political party in late February on the condition that the group makes peace. In recent months, the Taliban have also publicly offered talks with the United States and prominent Afghan powerbrokers, and high-profile peace demonstrations in conflict-torn Helmand province have spread across much of the country.

The U.S. Institute of Peace, in conjunction with Rise to Peace, hosted a panel of distinguished experts explore the prospects for peace and Afghanistan’s larger trajectory. Review the conversation on Twitter with #AfghanPeace.

Speakers

Ambassador Timothy Carney
Former U.S. Ambassador to Sudan and Haiti

John Wood
Associate Professor, National Defense University and former U.S. National Security Council Senior Director for Afghanistan

Johnny Walsh
Senior Expert, Afghanistan, U.S. Institute of Peace and former U.S. Department of State lead for Afghan reconciliation

Courtney Cooper
International Affairs Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations and former U.S. National Security Council Director for Afghanistan

Ahmad Mohibi
Founder and President, Rise to Peace

Michael Sherwin, Moderator
Assistant United States Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice and former U.S. Navy Intelligence Officer

Related Publications

How to Support Female Entrepreneurs in Afghanistan

How to Support Female Entrepreneurs in Afghanistan

Tuesday, June 25, 2024

By: Belquis Ahmadi;  Afsana Rahimi

Potential areas of cooperation between the Taliban and the international community, such as private sector development and alternative livelihoods to now-banned opium poppy cultivation, will be on the agenda at a meeting of international envoys for Afghanistan hosted by the United Nations in Doha from June 30 to July 1. Discussions on women’s rights are not included, as the Taliban consider it an internal matter. This is ironic, given that the private sector is one area where the Taliban allow limited women’s participation.

Type: Analysis

Economics;  Gender

As Taliban Poppy Ban Continues, Afghan Poverty Deepens

As Taliban Poppy Ban Continues, Afghan Poverty Deepens

Thursday, June 20, 2024

By: William Byrd, Ph.D.

Afghanistan, historically the leading source of the world’s illegal opium, is on-track for an unprecedented second year of dramatically reduced poppy cultivation, reflecting the Taliban regime’s continuing prohibition against growing the raw material for opiates. The crackdown has won plaudits in international circles, but its full implications call for clear-eyed analysis and well considered responses by the U.S. and others. The ban has deepened the poverty of millions of rural Afghans who depended on the crop for their livelihoods, yet done nothing to diminish opiate exports, as wealthier landowners sell off inventories. The unfortunate reality is that any aid mobilized to offset harm from the ban will be grossly insufficient and ultimately wasted unless it fosters broad-based rural and agricultural development that benefits the most affected poorer households. 

Type: Analysis

Economics

View All Publications