Afghanistan Under the Taliban Rule: Security Threats and Regional Response

The withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in 2021 and the return of the Afghan Taliban to power have raised concerns about the spillover of nontraditional security threats and complex and uncertain regional geopolitics in Central and South Asia by the international community. Over the years, Afghanistan’s unique geographical location, prolonged internal conflicts, and the continuous and complex interactions between domestic and foreign actors made it easy for the situation in Afghanistan to have linkage effects in surrounding areas. The Afghan Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan will lead to cross-regional linkage effects. Academic and policy circles have focused on terrorism and geopolitics. In particular, they are concerned about the impacts that the Afghan Taliban’s return will have on transnational terrorism, the response of key foreign countries to the new Afghan Taliban regime, and whether the international community will succeed when demanding that the Afghan Taliban adopt more flexible and pragmatic policies. The discussion of these issues is highly important to our understanding of and response to possible regional security risks and geopolitical changes.