• Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Global logoCarnegie lettermark logo
DemocracyIran
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [
    "William Maley"
  ],
  "type": "other",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "SAP",
  "programs": [
    "South Asia"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "North America",
    "United States",
    "South Asia",
    "Afghanistan"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Political Reform",
    "Economy",
    "Security",
    "Military",
    "Foreign Policy"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

Other

Stabilizing Afghanistan: Threats and Challenges

Stability in Afghanistan and the future of its government depend on the United States and its Afghan and other allies providing security for the Afghan people. Calls for an Iraq-style “troop surge” ignore the immediate need for a comprehensive political strategy to fix Afghanistan’s fragile security structure, dysfunctional system of government, and unstable borders.

Link Copied
By William Maley
Published on Oct 30, 2008
Program mobile hero image

Program

South Asia

The South Asia Program informs policy debates relating to the region’s security, economy, and political development. From strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific to India’s internal dynamics and U.S. engagement with the region, the program offers in-depth, rigorous research and analysis on South Asia’s most critical challenges.

Learn More

Stability in Afghanistan and the future of its government depend on the United States and its Afghan and other allies providing security for the Afghan people. Calls for an Iraq-style “troop surge” ignore the immediate need for a comprehensive political strategy to fix Afghanistan’s fragile security structure, dysfunctional system of government, and unstable borders, warns a new policy brief by Afghanistan expert William Maley.

Since the ousting of the Taliban in 2001, serious flaws in the international community’s approach point to the need for a long-term vision. Poor governance, failure to secure adequate counterterrorism cooperation from Pakistan, and the limited presence of international troops beyond Kabul greatly undermined the Afghan public’s confidence in their country’s transition and Western promises.

Recommendations for the next U.S. president:

  • Develop with NATO and allies a sustained, long-term commitment for stability.
  • Ensure greater focus on bringing security to Afghans’ daily lives, particularly those in small villages which are home to more than half the population, to build legitimacy for Afghanistan’s government.
  • Support systematic reform of Afghanistan’s 2004 constitution, which created a dysfunctional government too reliant on its president, without an effective executive office to support him.
  • Base counter-narcotics policies for Afghanistan on long-term projects that increase the returns from cultivating legal crops.
  • Encourage more Muslim states to contribute personnel to support the promotion of human security and development in Afghanistan.
  • Pressure Pakistan discreetly but strongly to arrest the Afghan Taliban leadership within its borders.

Maley concludes:

“Complex problems need carefully conceived responses, and when disrupted states are allowed to fester, their problems can easily become toxic for the international system. Afghanistan can find solutions to its problems, but those seeking to help it need great wisdom, courage, and farsightedness. This is the ultimate challenge that Afghanistan poses for the next U.S. president.”

About the Author
William Maley is professor and director of the Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy at the Australian National University. He has taught at the University of New South Wales, the Australian Defence Force Academy, and the Russian Diplomatic Academy.
 

About the Author

William Maley

William Maley
Political ReformEconomySecurityMilitaryForeign PolicyNorth AmericaUnited StatesSouth AsiaAfghanistan

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

  • Commentary
    Diwan
    Looking Past the Wall on Palestine-Israel

    Policy discussion is ignoring that the Palestinian national project is hollowed out and apartheid is a present danger.

      Nathan J. Brown

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    The Climate Blind Spot in Europe’s New Migration Pact

    The EU’s new migration policy is not suited to today’s realities. With climate change increasingly becoming a driver of displacement, Europe needs to rethink its deterrence-focused approach.

      • Shana Tabak headshot

      Shana Tabak

  • two men sitting next to each other
    Commentary
    Emissary
    Senegal’s Debt Crisis Has Moved Its Leaders from Partners to Rivals

    The impacts of the Faye-Sonko rupture could go well beyond the country’s borders.

      • Dr. Lesley Anne Warner

      Lesley Anne Warner

  • Participants in the 4th Meeting 'In Defense of Democracy' | Pool Moncloa/Fernando Calvo
    Paper
    Post-U.S. International Democracy Support: Aspiration in Search of Substance

    The reinvention of democracy support needs to be carried forward without the clear leadership of one dominant player.

      Richard Youngs, Thomas Carothers

  • Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary, speaks during a campaign rally of the governing Fidesz Party in Pecel, Hungary, on March 28. The rally is part of the Prime Minister's nationwide campaign trail before the Hungarian General Election scheduled for April 12.
    Paper
    Orbán, Fidesz, and Hungary’s Populist Foreign Policy

    Hungary under Viktor Orbán deployed right-wing populism as a foreign policy strategy, embedding the country in a web of illiberal transnational networks whose legacy will endure even after his April 2026 electoral defeat.

      Zsuzsanna Végh

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie global logo, stacked
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC, 20036-2103Phone: 202 483 7600
  • Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
  • Donate
  • Programs
  • Events
  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Annual Reports
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Government Resources
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.