My new story, based on interviews with Chinese analysts and examination of state media, shows that China’s apparently enthusiastic approach to the new Taliban regime in Afghanistan is more cautious than it looks.

My latest argues that the US was right to pull its troops out of Afghanistan but should remain engaged in the country, especially by providing humanitarian aid.

In my new story for Nikkei Asia, drug experts tell me that Afghanistan’s huge narcotics trade, which boomed during the NATO occupation, is likely to continue under Taliban rule.

My latest piece, out today, looks at the rivalry that is brewing in Afghanistan between Iran & Qatar, on the one hand, and Saudi Arabia & the UAE, on the other.

In the rush of recent Afghan work, I forgot to post this National Interest essay from last week arguing that sanctioning Pakistan would not have averted the Taliban takeover of the country.

My long read examines China’s future role in Afghanistan after the US troop withdrawal, which is likely to be characterised more by caution than expansionism.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of holding a short discussion for Conversation Six with Vanda Felbab-Brown of the Brookings Institution on China’s role in Afghanistan, available here.

My latest essay argues that, while Turkey can certainly make a positive contribution to Afghanistan’s future, there are real limits to what it can achieve.

My latest for Nikkei Asia is a wide-ranging interview with one of Pakistan’s top anti-narcotics officials, who expressed serious concern that the worsening situation in Afghanistan might aggravate the country’s illicit drug problems.

I had a short discussion with Syed Ali Zia Jaffery of the University of Lahore on the excellent new platform Conversation Six yesterday about possible US basing in Pakistan and China’s likely reaction, where we summarised our recent articles on this issue.