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Resistance to negotiation and the continuation of violence dictate the course of events in the Afghanistan conflict. However, several studies have thoroughly explored the interests of the main parties to the conflict and a settlement that respects their key demands is possible. The current military situation resembles a "hurting stalemate," which according to rationalist assumptions should compel the parties to move toward negotiations. This article argues that the main obstacle to negotiation is an underlying and unaddressed conflict of recognition between the United States, the Afghan government, and the Taliban. While each party believes it is driven by justice claims, they perceive their opponents to be driven by a hostile strategy informed by incompatible interests. Relying on the Cultural Theory of International Relations, this article explores the parties' motives in the conflict, focusing on the need to strive for esteem and honor. It suggests that the reciprocal acknowledgement of legitimate identity-related justice claims could remove a key obstacle to formal negotiation.

Resistance to negotiation and the continuation of violence dictate the course of events in the Afghanistan conflict. However, several studies have thoroughly explored the interests of the main parties to the conflict and a settlement that respects their key demands is possible. The current military situation resembles a 'hurting stalemate,' which according to rationalist assumptions should compel the parties to move toward negotiations. This article argues that the main obstacle to negotiation is an underlying and unaddressed conflict of recognition between the United States, the Afghan government, and the Taliban. While each party believes it is driven by justice claims, they perceive their opponents to be driven by a hostile strategy informed by incompatible interests. Relying on the Cultural Theory of International Relations, this article explores the parties' motives in the conflict, focusing on the need to strive for esteem and honor. It suggests that the reciprocal acknowledgement of legitimate identity-related justice claims could remove a key obstacle to formal negotiation. Adapted from the source document.

Abstract
This article introduces two new datasets detailing shifts in alliances and alignments in Europe throughout the century prior to the Peace of Westphalia. The datasets identify a list of key actors in the European sphere during this time period and introduce two ways of tracking diplomatic shifts. The Formal Military Alliances and Political Settlements dataset (fmaps) lists all formal treaties and agreements reached between major actors in the European sphere that codified a form of alliance among them and for which a start and end year could be identified. The Alignments During Armed Conflicts Dataset (adacs) lists parties' alignments during the period's major armed conflicts. Both datasets were compiled through review of available literature about diplomatic ententes and armed conflicts throughout the period from 1528 to 1648. While the article outlines a few potential weaknesses of the datasets, the authors demonstrate their value for historical and social science research, as well as network analysis.

Current wargaming techniques are effective training and research instruments for military scenarios with fixed tools and boundaries on the problem. Control cells composed of officiants adjudicating and evaluating moves enforce these boundaries. Real-world crises, however, unfold in several dimensions in a chaotic context, a condition requiring decision-making under deep uncertainty. In this article, we assess how pedagogical exercises can be designed to effectively capture this level of complexity and describe a new framework for developing deeply immersive exercises. We propose a method for designing crisis environments that are dynamic, deep, and decentralized (3D). These obviate the need for a control cell and enhance the usefulness of exercises in preparing military and policy practitioners by better replicating real-world decision-making dynamics. This paper presents the application of this 3D method, which integrates findings from wargame and negotiation simulation design into immersive crisis exercises. We share observations from the research, design, and execution of "Red Horizon," an immersive crisis exercise held three times at Harvard University with senior civilian and military participants from multiple countries. It further explores connections to contemporary trends in international relations scholarship.

"This report assesses the interests of the most relevant state and non-state actors in Afghanistan and Central Asia in the aftermath of the 2014 Afghan presidential election. It is guided by the premise that the armed conflict in Afghanistan should be understood as being heavily intertwined with regional politics. Its purpose is to serve as an overview of the negotiation environment in Afghanistan and Central Asia. It identifies actors, interests, and relationships that are helpful to take into consideration when sequencing and orchestrating a peace process that could de-escalate the war in Afghanistan and help build a more stable and cooperative region. The majority of the PRIF Report focuses on relevant actors and their network of relationships, and the conclusion details three future scenarios and a set of recommendations that could facilitate a coordinated negotiation process." (author's abstract)

This paper maps out the negotiation environment of the Afghanistan conflict. So far, all attempts to end the violence between the Afghan government, insurgency, and US and NATO through negotiations have failed. Key obstacles to negotiations are the complexity of the conflict and the variety of state and non-state actors that are directly or indirectly involved. This paper explores the interests and relationships of these actors and highlights the most important alliances and connections. Finally, these connections are visualized in a network diagram.

"Afghanistan befindet sich seit über 30 Jahren im Bürgerkrieg. Mit Blick auf den für 2014 geplanten Abzug der UN-mandatierten und NATO-geführten ISAF-Truppen analysiert der vorliegende Report die verschiedenen Konflikte, die der derzeitigen Phase des Krieges zugrunde liegen. Er argumentiert, dass die komplexe Konfliktsituation durch die Strategie der 'Sicherheitsübergabe' nicht bearbeitet wird und plädiert dafür, den afghanischen Bürgerkrieg durch offizielle Friedensverhandlungen zwischen den zentralen Konfliktparteien zu deeskalieren. Hierzu werden konkrete Vorschläge gemacht, wie die USA, die NATO und Deutschland einen formalisierten und inklusiven Friedensprozess in Afghanistan unterstützen können." (Autorenreferat)

This book studies the justice concerns of political actors in important international regimes and international and domestic conflicts and traces their effects on peace and conflict. The book demonstrates that such justice concerns play an ambivalent role for the resolution of conflicts and maintenance of order. While arrangements that actors perceive as just will provide a good basis for peaceful relations, the pursuit of justice can create conflicts or make existing ones more difficult to resolve.