Reports that Pakistan-based militant groups may be moving to unite could help clarify U.S. talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan. But CFR’s Daniel Markey calls it a tricky game, complicated by unclea…

Afghanistan expert Thomas H. Johnson says Western efforts to force a runoff election will not produce a legitimate leader in the eyes of Afghan voters, and could further destabilize the country.

On September 18, Afghans go to the polls to elect a lower house of parliament and councils in all thirty-four provinces. However, a recent spate of attacks by members of the deposed Taliban and forei…

The Taliban believes it will have the upper hand in potential negotiations with the Afghan government and its partner in Washington, but it remains unclear what the insurgent group’s goals are in any…

Romesh Bhattacharji, a South Asian counternarcotics expert, says India’s success with legal poppy growing though an international licensing program could be replicated in Afghanistan.