Russia in Global Affairs

When the U.S. hurriedly left Afghanistan in August 2021, it nevertheless took care to leave a major hotbed of tension in the region. Critics of the Biden administration still recall the unpleasant details of the flight of the U.S. troops from Kabul.

So, as the dust settles in Afghanistan, what’s driving policymakers in Russia and Central Asia? In this new episode of War & Peace, Olga Oilker and Hugh Pope are joined by Ivan Safranchuk, Senior Fellow at Moscow’s Institute of International Studies, to discuss the role they will play in shaping Afghanistan’s future.

Fyodor Lukyanov believes the messy American withdrawal from Afghanistan indicates that the United States intends to focus more narrowly—and more strategically—on national interests worth defending. Join the webinar for a conversation between Lukyanov and Alexandra Vacroux to hear how the Russians are interpreting the U.S. exit from Kabul and the opportunities it may create for Russia.

The American global hegemony of the 1991-2021 edition was so impressive and probably unprecedented in scale that a mild and gradual departure from it was not possible.

In reality, Russia has supported (although softer diplomatic language is used) the force in Afghanistan which is the most independent one in the local context. This is a rather consistent step towards building a polycentric and diverse world.

US President Joe Biden’s speech on his country’s withdrawal from Afghanistan is a turning point in American foreign policy. As the last troops pull out, leaving a shattered nation behind, Washington seems to have few regrets.

On July 20, the Valdai Club held an online discussion titled “Afghanistan After the US Withdrawal: A Security Vacuum Forever?” The discussion was moderated by Fyodor Lukyanov, Editor-in-Chief of Russia in Global Affairs, Research Director of the Valdai Discussion Club.

For Russia, stability and smooth cooperation with Central Asia is the third chance (after the failure of western and CIC integrational projects) to show the attractiveness of cooperation with Russia within her traditional area of influence. The stakes are high as the Eurasian project will either reinvent Russia as a moderator in the emerging continental system, or solidify her status as an important but lonely regional power.

Islamism. Political Islam. Islamic fundamentalism. The mass media and academic studies are literally brimming with these terms. However, what we see today as a natural component of international relations, in the 1970s-1980s was an unheard-of and inconceivable phenomenon in world politics.