Welcome:

MORITZ EHRMANN, Director of the ASPR

Speaker:

VICTORIA FONTAN, Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies and Vice President of Academic Affairs at the American University of Afghanistan

Moderation:

STEPHANIE FENKART, Director of the IIP

Content:

Post 2001 Afghanistan has become a case study for the failure of liberal peace as part of a nation-building exercise. The scars that the US withdrawal have left on Afghanistan are manyfold, and deep, yet these are only superficial when compared to the disintegration of its social fabric, its youth, and the deep fragmentation of Afghan society that has followed. Amidst the rapid formation of Taliban authoritarian rule, what is next for Afghanistan and what can the EU do to assist its population, whilst not empowering the Taliban. The talk will seek to explore the different steps that led to August 15th's disintegration of the Afghan State, identify the current situation of peace networks in the country, and point towards avenues for support, amplification and strengthening of a decolonial peace in and out of Afghanistan.