Bringing multilateralism back in: ending the war in Afghanistan is not a one-nation job
Files
Published version
Date
2021-03-15
DOI
Authors
Barfield, Thomas J.
Nojumi, Neamat
Version
Published version
OA Version
Citation
T. Barfield, N. Nojumi. 2021. "Bringing multilateralism back in: ending the war in Afghanistan is not a one-nation job."
Abstract
The United States’ unilateral deal with the Taliban in February 2020 needs to be expanded if it is to achieve success. Because the war in Afghanistan was never purely a domestic one, only a multilateral international agreement can end it and simultaneously empower Afghan stakeholders to determine their country’s future governance. A dual-track United Nations-led mediation platform, bolstered by a collaboration between Washington and Brussels, offers the best means to achieve this end. At the international and regional level, its goal would be conflict management: to end outside support for any faction unwilling to take part in the domestic peace process and to pledge support for any final negotiated peace agreement acceptable to a majority of the Afghan people. Since neither the Afghan government nor the Taliban can win a war or dictate the structure of a future constitutional order without such outside support, this would lay the groundwork for lasting conflict resolution within Afghanistan itself.