Limits of the Liberal Peace Building

Abstract

United States and NATO forces withdrew from Afghanistan after 20 years of war and violence and in the aftermath, the Taliban has taken control of the country. The western idea of liberal peace was promoted in the country for the last 20 years, however, the Afghan population remained hesitant towards it. A 2018 estimate of Taliban forces included almost 65,000 fighters which proved to be a reliable fighting and an opposing force and the vacuum that was left by the foreign forces was quickly filled by the Taliban. There have been reasons discussed in the research study regarding the failure of western forces from time to time but the main challenge; inclusivity of all ethnicities during the formulation of government remains the main one. Firstly, the focus should have been on the local community and empowering them rather than focusing on establishing a government that opposed the Taliban movement. During the discussion, there were many grievances, ranging from social, political and religious aspects however, catering to them as a priority was a necessity. People were seen as a human capital for the opposing forces and a human nature of war was never seen. The US had its phases as they wanted to build and sustain a society but the failure of which have been credited to the NATO forces as well. From communism to the western idea of democracy, everything has been far-fetched when it comes to Afghanistan and it’s time to realize that Afghans will only let Afghans govern them, that too with a condition that an integrative society is formulated in the right way.