How Has the Relationship Between the Insurgents and the Civilian Population Changed?

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How has the relationship, in those 20 years, between the insurgents and the civilian population changed? I realise that's an enormous question. But it's a familiar trajectory. Rat like, when insurgencies start, they're pretty disorganized. They target any one and anything that they can to make a point. And civilians are often treated, as you say, as quite passive in all this.

While the Taliban have the power of violence on their side in Afghanistan, they nonetheless need civilians to comply with their authority. Both strategically and by necessity, civilians have leveraged this reliance on their obedience in order to influence Taliban behaviour. In this week's episode Ashley Jackson author or Negotiating Survival speaks to Rosamund Urwin about her new model for understanding how civilian agency can shape the conduct of insurgencies. They also discuss Taliban strategy and objectives, explaining how the organisation has so nearly triumphed on the battlefield and in peace talks. While Afghanistan’s future is deeply unpredictable, there is one certainty: it is as critical as ever to understand the Taliban—and how civilians survive their rule. To find out more about the book and to order it click here: https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/negotiating-survival/

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