AFGHANISTAN’S PATH TO RECOVERY: CENTRAL ASIAN DIMENSION

Abstract

This paper closely looks at the current state of affairs in Afghanistan and its relations with countries of Central Asia. It also highlights little progress made by national Afghan government since 2014 after NATO withdrawal. Such issues as border security, regional cooperation, international community’s development assistance are discussed. Most importantly paper attempts to answer the question whether there is indeed imminent threat emanating from Afghanistan to its neighbours in the North. It is getting increasingly clear today that United States is failing to succeed in Afghanistan yet again. Failure is happening across many various dimensions: political, military, social, economic and regional. Today Afghanistan is widely perceived as a war-torn country with continuous fighting and a little prospect for the peace. One can say that Afghanistan truly became a platform for clash of civilisations with Western powers trying to create liberal democracy against deeply traditional, rural and tribalistic society the country presents. In this context, it is hard to imagine how the path to comprehensive recovery should look like. Keywords: Afghanistan, Central Asia, Taliban, foreign fighters, regional security, Islamic State Khorasan, NATO