This report summarises the different ways in which Australian aid agencies - both government and non-government - have performed in Afghanistan, assesses their outcomes and comments on the effectiveness of the Australian led aid programs.

This paper seeks to explain the reasons for the failure of the war against Al Qaeda so far, but looks at this debate from the perspective of the British rather than the American experience of the war on terror.

Australian Army Colonel, Matthew Hall, argues that during efforts to bring stability and security to Afghanistan, the international community of states may have overlooked a critical ally; the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Hall believes that the Organisation should be considered a partner in the international stabilisation efforts in Afghanistan, and proposes that Australia is well-placed to...

Malalai Joya is described by the BBC as the most famous woman in Afghanistan and at 28 years of age is the youngest member of the Afghani Parliament. Joya is a controversial figure, reviled by many Afghani fundamentalists yet viewed by others as a freedom fighter and heroine in contemporary Afghanistan. She has made her...

Warlords control many areas of Afghanistan and overland travel can be very dangerous, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs. It’s just one reason why Afghan refugees shouldn’t be forced to return, says Peter Mares.