Designing a comprehensive peace process for Afghanistan

In June 2011, Afghan president Hamid Karzai revealed publicly for the first time that the United States and the Taliban have been holding secret negotiations. To date, these negotiations have focused on a narrow agenda on conditions for the Taliban to lay down their arms and for the United States to leave Afghanistan -- and do not address other significant root causes of the current conflict, such as government corruption and ethnic tensions. Thus, they will be unlikely to lay the foundation for a sustainable peace. This report argues that a comprehensive peace process in Afghanistan requires a much more deliberate design than currently exists, calls attention to Afghan civil society's capacity to support a national peace process, and offers recommendations to the international community, the Afghan government, and Afghan civil society for ensuring a more comprehensive, successful, and sustainable peace process.