Middle East & North Africa

International politicians do not have much time to make progress on Afghanistan before the US presidential elections. Michael Steiner came to the DGAP to discuss the prospects for upcoming negotiations that will deal with the withdraw of troops and lasting stability in the country. Building up the Afghan security forces and talks with the Taliban are among the central challenges faced by the country.

The alliance between Pakistan and the U.S. has never been an easy one, but the tacit support of the Taliban uprising in Afghanistan through the military establishment in Pakistan has raised fundamental question on how to calibrate Western and American policies towards the country. Bruce Riedel from the Brookings Institution discussed the current situation in the country at the German Council on Foreign Relations.

Im „Arabischen Frühling“ sind die fehlenden wirtschaftlichen Perspektiven der meist jungen Bevölkerung eine wichtige Triebfeder. Der Erfolg der Freiheitsbewegungen dürfte auch davon abhängen, dass sich die ökonomische Situation in den arabischen Staaten erkennbar verbessert.