Registration Open Soon – Decades of the Republic in Afghanistan – Free Online Seminar Spring 2022
Hosted on Zoom – Register for link
March 15 – May 17, 2022
9:00am-10:30am Eastern Time
Afghanistan has been at the epicenter of regional and global politics for nearly half a century. After decades of peace and stability, it experienced back to back political and social upheaval from leftist military coups to the invasion of the Soviet Union leading to the Mujahideen claiming power in the early nineties. In-fighting among the parties in power gave space to the rise of the Taliban who were ousted by the US/NATO intervention after the twin tower attacks. In the past two decades, Afghanistan saw unprecedented global engagement, becoming a testing ground for modern nation-building efforts parallel to the west’s war on terror. All this investment came crumbling down on August 15th when Afghanistan’s president, Ashraf Ghani, fled the country and Taliban captured Kabul. This seminar introduces Afghanistan and aims to shed light on the complex domestic, regional and international political scene in the country.
More Information:
Participants who successfully complete the seminar requirements will receive a certificate of satisfactory completion from the Dean of The New School for Social Research. In order to obtain a certificate of satisfactory completion, a registrant must attend at least 8 full sessions.
Registration will remain open for the duration of the seminar. Registrants will receive a confirmation email with the Zoom link each week.
The seminar sessions will be recorded and available to registrants.
Seminar Leaders:
Prof. Shoaib Rahim
Shoaib Rahim is an Associate Professor of Practice in Management at American University of Afghanistan (AUAF). He has a rich background working in the public sector ranging from his days at the Ministry of Defense, to serving as the Acting Mayor of Kabul and finally working on Afghanistan’s peace process. His academic involvement over the years has been with AUAF and he is currently a Visiting Scholar at the New School in New York.
Dr. Kazim Karimi
Kazim Karimi is a Professor at Afghanistan University. He holds a PhD in Commerce from Mangalore University India where he focused his research on rural development models. His years of work in the development sector in Afghanistan as well as in the public sector have allowed him to enrich his contribution to academia over the years.
Weekly Sessions:
- March 15, 2022: The Who’s Who Before 9/11
- March 22, 2022: NATO/US Enter in Afghanistan
- March 19, 2022: Space for Civil Society
- April 5, 2022: Afghanistan’s National Army and the War on Terror
- April 12, 2022: Experiencing Democracy
- April 19, 2022: Proxy Wars and Regional Interests in Afghanistan
- April 26, 2022: The Big Debate on Decentralization of Power
- May 3, 2022: Introducing Ashraf Ghani
- May 10, 2022: A Peace Process which Broke the Country’s Back
- May 17, 2022: The Situation Today and Where do We Go from Here?
Reading List
Week 1:
US Engagement in Afghanistan, Vox
Week 2:
Collective Defence – Article 5, NATO
Week 3:
Afghanistan: The Brief History Of Media Freedom, Radio Free Europe
Week 4:
Week 5
Afghanistan’s Presidential Rivals Reach Agreement After Kerry Flies into Kabul, The Guardian
Week 6:
Another Proxy War In Afghanistan?, The Interpreter
U.S. Troop Withdrawal from Afghanistan Risks Fueling a New India-Pakistan Proxy War by Umair Jamal
The Risk of a Saudi-Iran Proxy War in Afghanistan, TRT WORLD
Afghanistan: With Taliban in power, Iran and Gulf states will vie for influence, Middle East Eye
The Return of Great Power Proxy Wars by Frank Hoffman and Andrew Orner
Week 7:
Centralization Is at the Core of Afghanistan’s Problems, The Diplomat
Afghanistan Needs a Weaker President, Foreign Policy
Week 8:
Week 9:
Reading the Doha Agreement, Literally, Aspenia Online
Afghanistan: US-Taliban Deal Hastened Afghan Collapse, Defence Officials Say, BBC
Week 10:
What’s Next for Afghanistan? Two Experts Make Predictions, The Conversation