ISAS Working Papers

Afghanistan has seen a lot of history. Since it is not easy to compress it into the space of a Working Paper, the author will focus his attention on more recent times. Beginning with the Bonn Agreement of 2001 involving many countries around the world that wanted to see stability come to the country that has seen unimaginable violence for four decades, this paper will provide a brief overview of the way politics has developed in the country over the last decade. It will then provide an overview of the economic situation, suggesting that sustained growth in the depressed economy will only come once the country controls violence. Since Afghanistan's political progress depends to considerable extent on the country's relations with Pakistan, its neighbour to the southeast, a section will examine how Kabul and Islamabad are looking at each other. The paper will devote considerable space to the way the American policy is evolving in the country under the newly installed administration headed by President Donald Trump. The White House is still involved in the process of developing its approach towards the country in which the Americans intervened in 2001 and have been fighting there for 16 years. The final section of the paper examines the likely impact on the South Asian sub-continent of continued turbulence in Afghanistan.