Afghan Voices on the Failure to Achieve Peace: Reflections on the Past and What Comes Next

In July 2022, the American Institute of Afghanistan Studies and the U.S. Institute of Peace
convened an exceptional group of young Afghans in Washington, DC nearly a year after the fall
of the republic in 2021. Fourteen participants were chosen from over ninety applicants to gather
for a series of conversations reflecting on the collapse of the Afghan government, the return of
the Taliban, and the collective failure to secure peace in Afghanistan. Their discussions were
inspired by this collection of essays. The collection reflects their diverse perspectives as
journalists, researchers, artists, academics, and public servants, all from a generation profoundly
shaped by the events of the last two decades.

Fara Abbas
Harvard University
“Competing Interests and Priorities — Why Political Settlement Failed in Afghanistan”

Nargis Azaryun
Georgetown University
“Why Was A Political Settlement Not Achieved In Afghanistan?”

Obaidullah Baheer
American University of Afghanistan
“Why Was A Political Settlement Not Achieved In Afghanistan?”

Haseeb Humayoon**
Georgetown University

Shafiqa Khpalwak*
Wellesley College
“They Decided Our Fate and We Stared With Cold Eyes”

Sayed Madadi**
National Endowment for Democracy

Mujib Mehrdad
Independent Scholar
“Underestimating the Local Understanding of Problems: The Tragedy of Governance and Peace in Afghanistan”

Humaira Rahbin
Independent Scholar
“Women’s Issues Remained Only Women’s” Afghanistan’s Women Empowerment Agenda and the Failure to Achieve a Political Settlement”

Shoaib Rahim
American University of Afghanistan
“Why Was A Political Settlement Not Achieved In Afghanistan?”

Haroun Rahimi**
American University of Afghanistan
“Afghanistan’s Blame Game: Why did the Islamic Republic Collapse?”

Lutfi Rahimi
Biruni Institute
“Beyond US Withdrawal: What Happened in Afghanistan?”

Omar Sadr
Center for Governance and Markets, University of Pittsburgh
“Why Was A Political Settlement Not Achieved In Afghanistan: A Bargaining Challenge Approach”

Jawad Zawulistani
Independent Scholar
“Why Was A Political Settlement Not Achieved In Afghanistan?”

* essay forthcoming, to be published as part of a U.S. Institute of Peace compendium of papers on lessons from the failed peace process in Afghanistan, 2001-21.

** Not published in this collection.