NATO
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Aegean tensions on the rise
Erdogan's "charm offensive" doesn't include Greece
It seems yesterday's words are water under the bridge. Turkish foreign policy is currently undergoing a profound re-orientation: declared enemies are to become partners, opponents allies. But not when it comes to Greece. By Ronald Meinardus
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Standing up for Ukraine: Anti-war protests around the world
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Afghanistan's humanitarian crisis
End the economic blockade
As the Western world emerges from a holiday season made less festive by COVID-19, millions of children in Afghanistan are starting 2022 facing the prospect of famine, illness, and a lost education. Yet the same governments now rushing to apply humanitarian bandages to Afghanistan’s open wounds are steadfastly refusing to switch on the economic life-support systems needed to avert catastrophe. By Kevin Watkins
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Afghanistan's humanitarian crisis
Can the Taliban avert a food crisis without foreign aid?
In view of the catastrophic supply situation in Afghanistan, UN authorities are sounding the alarm. Inflation and growing poverty are exacerbating the situation. The Taliban reportedly have an emergency programme to combat the crisis. By Shabnam von Hein
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The Longest War – 20 years of the "War on Terror"
Afghanistan: Emran Feroz' chronology of a disaster
The "War on Terror" has not only failed in Afghanistan, it has exacerbated insecurity and generated more terrorism. This is the main thrust of journalist Emran Feroz in his book, which was published, appropriately enough, 20 years after the attacks of 11 September 2001 and the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan by the USA and NATO. Behnam Said read the book for Qantara.de
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Hisham A. Hellyer on "the War on Terror"
"You cannot rely on the West"
Western states have fought against terrorism not only in Afghanistan, but also in Syria and Iraq – leaving behind people who were once their partners in fear and poverty. Hisham A. Hellyer talks in interview about the "war on terror" and the role played by the West 20 years on. Interview by Andrea Backhaus
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Afghanistan
Victim-blaming – a trope of the West's failure in Afghanistan
One prominent narrative relating to the defeat of the western-led military intervention in Afghanistan is that it was a mistake to try to build a modern democracy in a society steeped in "mediaeval traditions" and "tribal attitudes". Hans Dembowski condemns this self-serving and condescending standpoint, which persists in ignoring the serious flaws in the West's engagement, while blaming the victims for its failure
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20 years after 9/11
U.S. war on terror is still omnipresent
Twenty years after 9/11, the United States is recalibrating its war policy. However, its assertions that the era of endless wars is over are a myth, writes Maha Hilal
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The West's neo-colonialism
Why nation-building failed in Afghanistan
Although the United States clearly could have done a better job of managing its departure from Afghanistan, the tragedy playing out this month has been 20 years in the making. From the outset, America and its allies embraced – and never reconsidered – a top-down state-building strategy that was always destined to fail. Commentary by Daron Acemoglu
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Western withdrawal from Afghanistan
The symbolic importance of the U.S. defeat
Caught up in discussions on the future of local Afghan forces and new Islamist threats, people are failing to grasp the historic scale of the debacle, argues Stefan Buchen in his essay
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Afghanistan between defiance and despair
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Turkish foreign policy
Ankara – new guarantor of stability on the Hindu Kush?
Ankara's foreign policy apparatus is currently running at top speed. While politicians in the West busy themselves with evacuating Kabul and analysing the chaos, which not even optimists would term effective crisis management, Erdogan's Turkey seems to be one step ahead. By Ronald Meinardus