{"id":1432,"date":"2021-08-24T16:10:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-24T23:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/usc-dornsife-experts-assess-the-situation-in-afghanistan\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T21:51:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T04:51:07","slug":"taliban-seize-power-in-afghanistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/taliban-seize-power-in-afghanistan\/","title":{"rendered":"USC Dornsife experts assess the situation in Afghanistan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3538-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3538-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"USC Dornsife experts assess the situation in Afghanistan\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Hundreds of people crammed into a U.S. Air Force plane wait to be evacuated from Afghanistan after the Taliban seized control of the country. (Image Source: U.S. Air Force \/ Staff Sgt. Brandon Cribelar.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=dornsife-global\">Dornsife Global<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>USC Dornsife experts assess the situation in Afghanistan<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Two scholars with expertise on the region give their insights into the harrowing situation unfolding after the Taliban seizes power. <strong>[4\u00bd min read]<\/strong>\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Susan Bell<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">August 24, 2021<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 4.0350275 0 1.5167124.60096154 2.9475732 1.68841575 4.0350274 1.058837 1.0874543 2.51831502 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xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m8.14285714 9.42857143c-.17142857 0-.34285714 0-.51428571.08571428l7.28571427 6.34285719c.3428572.2571428.6857143.2571428.9428572 0l7.2857142-6.34285719c-.0857142-.08571428-.2571428-.08571428-.4285714-.08571428zm-1.28571428 1.11428567v.1714286 8.5714286c0 .6857143.6 1.2857143 1.28571428 1.2857143h14.57142856c.6857143 0 1.2857143-.6 1.2857143-1.2857143v-8.5714286c0-.0857143 0-.0857143 0-.1714286l-7.2 6.3428572c-.7714286.6857143-1.8857143.6857143-2.6571429 0z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -9)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Email<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                  <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>It\u2019s hard not to be deeply saddened at the heartbreaking images of desperate Afghans trying to flee their country as the Taliban resume control.<\/p>\n<p>Two experts on the region from the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences \u2014\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/cf\/faculty-and-staff\/faculty.cfm?pid=1003234\">Robert English<\/a>,\u00a0associate professor of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife-poir.usc.edu\/\">international relations<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/sll\/\">Slavic languages and literature<\/a>\u00a0and environmental studies, and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/cf\/faculty-and-staff\/faculty.cfm?pid=1098063\">Steve Swerdlow<\/a>, associate professor of the practice of political science and international relations \u2014 answer five questions about the Taliban, the fall of Afghanistan and the challenges ahead.<\/p>\n<h2>Kabul\u2019s rapid fall came as a shock to many. Why were the Taliban able to sweep to power so rapidly?<\/h2>\n<p><strong>English<\/strong>: I would repeat what I said 20 years ago when I drew on the Soviet experience to warn about three things on the eve of the U.S. invasion: first, the Afghan people are fierce fighters who resist any foreign occupiers, even those who see themselves as liberators; second, Afghanistan is not a united nation, rather a patchwork of diverse ethnicities and tribes that will be extremely difficult to reform; third, our stated goals of combatting religious fundamentalism while promoting economic development and women\u2019s rights sounded eerily similar to the Soviets\u2019 goals in 1979 \u2014 and so might also be rejected by many as foreign imports alien to traditional Afghan culture.<\/p>\n<h2>Afghanistan is very different today than under the first period of Taliban rule. What do you think Afghanistan will look like under a second bout of Taliban control?<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Swerdlow<\/strong>: Afghan society certainly experienced extraordinary changes over the last 20 years in terms of the growth of a civil society and media and the assertion of initiatives to empower women and girls in ways that were impossible under the Taliban. The question now becomes, \u201cWhat tools do the U.S. and its allies have to pressure the Taliban to respect basic human rights commitments?\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"news-image-landscape news-image-right\">\n<figure style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/migration-uploads\/TalibanPrimer_InStoryA-3538.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of an Afghan woman and child.\" width=\"630\" height=\"406\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The return to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan threatens the human and civil rights of women and girls in the country. (Image Source: U.S. Marine Corps \/ 1st Lt. Mark Andries.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Is the U.S. government\u2019s approach to getting at-risk Afghans safely out of Afghanistan sufficient?<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Swerdlow<\/strong>: Many problems plague the U.S. effort to evacuate at-risk Afghans. Since the Special Immigrant Visa program opened in 2009 for Afghan translators, interpreters and others who have assisted the U.S. and NATO war effort, it has been mired in bureaucratic problems. Hundreds of Afghan translators and other staff have received repeated rejections of their paperwork despite being vouched for by multiple former military and others.<\/p>\n<p>But there\u2019s a much larger category of Afghan citizens with credible claims of persecution under the Taliban, including women leaders, NGO activists, human rights defenders, Afghan government employees and foreign embassy staff, AID workers, and journalists. These people invested years, sometimes decades, into building a civil society and now top the Taliban\u2019s target list. The U.S. and other governments must step up their processing at Kabul airport, but also press the Taliban to halt its repression and urge all Afghanistan\u2019s neighbors to keep their borders open for refugee processing. Anyone who fears persecution should be able to leave and to do so safely.<\/p>\n<h2>The Taliban are presenting themselves as peaceful and inclusive. Can women trust this apparent rebranding?<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Swerdlow<\/strong>: Aside from some increased savvy in the use of social media, not much has changed. The reality for Afghanistan\u2019s women and girls is grave and desperate. When the Taliban ruled the country from 1996 to 2001, they banned almost all education for women and girls, imposed stoning, lashing and amputation as criminal punishment, and confined women to their homes unless they were escorted by a male family member.<\/p>\n<p>Now, seeking to appear acceptable to the international community, Taliban leaders\u2019 rhetoric about women\u2019s rights has slightly softened. But evidence from human rights activists demonstrates that this rhetoric rings hollow. In recent months, as the Taliban advanced, there have been disturbing reports of the closure of girls\u2019 schools, expulsions of women from places of work and restrictions on their movement. The United Nations Human Rights Council, a body that exists solely to monitor and uphold human rights, should immediately authorize and adopt the most robust mechanism it can to monitor closely the Taliban\u2019s conduct, especially in relations to the most vulnerable categories of Afghans \u2014 women, children, religious and ethnic minorities, civil society and journalists.<\/p>\n<p><strong>English<\/strong>:\u00a0The central Taliban leadership may pursue more moderate policies than before on matters such as women\u2019s rights, but they may not be able to control more orthodox and zealous regional officials.\u00a0I worry that the recriminations that have enveloped Washington will undermine our ability to exert any moderating influence in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n<p>A policy that seeks to spite and isolate the Taliban will not encourage moderates.\u00a0America\u2019s historic tendency after backing the losing side in a civil war \u2014 from Russia in 1921 to China in 1949 and Vietnam in 1975 \u2014 is precisely spite and isolation. And this has always backfired. We need to put our anger and partisanship aside and work with our European allies, as well as Russia and Pakistan, to engage with the considerable carrots and sticks at our disposal.<\/p>\n<h2>Is America\u2019s original war aim \u2014 to prevent Afghanistan becoming a launching pad for al-Qaida attacks \u2014 now at risk?<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Swerdlow<\/strong>: Threats from al-Qaeda and ISIS in Afghanistan will continue to plague regional and global security, and the loss of an embassy will compromise Washington\u2019s ability to collect intelligence. This is why principled engagement and creative diplomacy and pressure with Afghanistan and its neighbors should be utilized long after the last U.S. military jets have departed Kabul airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-related-stories \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-related-stories\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n    \n                  <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/10-years-after-the-arab-spring\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >10 years after the Arab Spring, USC Dornsife scholars examine its troubled legacy<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/harsh-punishments-under-sharia-law-are-modern-interpretation\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Harsh punishments under Sharia are modern interpretations of an ancient tradition<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/sharia-islamic-law\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >What is Sharia? Islamic law shows Muslims how to live, and can be a force for progress as well as a tool of\u00a0fundamentalists<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n            <\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two scholars with expertise on the region give their insights into the harrowing situation unfolding after the Taliban seizes power. <strong>[4\u00bd min read]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":1435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[143,85,119,276,278],"class_list":["post-1432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dornsife-global","tag-faculty","tag-international-relations","tag-political-science-and-international-relations","tag-robert-english","tag-steve-swerdlow"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized 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