Engagement Over Isolation: The West’s Quiet Strategy in Taliban Afghanistan
Five years after the Taliban seized Kabul, Western influence in Afghanistan remains limited and uneven; despite ongoing international dialogue and UN-led processes, the regime’s bans on women’s rights persist amid a deep humanitarian crisis, while aid and sanctions shape leverage. The consensus among officials is to favor engagement over isolation, using structured diplomacy to maintain humanitarian access and inch toward reform, with real change likely to come from within Afghanistan even as the world stays engaged.
