The Negotiators

Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, a seasoned diplomat and human-rights lawyer, shares his experiences from leading negotiations on the crime of aggression in Kampala. He discusses the challenges of reconciling political divides among 193 countries and the complexities of defining aggression. Zeid reveals how time pressure and a motivational pep talk from Nuremberg prosecutor Ben Ferencz helped secure consensus. He recounts pivotal moments such as peeling the UK away from P5 opposition and the dramatic late-night drafting that ultimately led to a historic agreement.

The Negotiators is back with a new host and all new stories from some of the world's most dramatic negotiations. Journalist Femi Oke takes us behind the scenes at a luxury resort in Uganda, as government representatives gather to establish the International Criminal Court's jurisdiction to prosecute leaders for unjust wars. We'll go scuba diving through endangered coral reefs in the Red Sea with the environment minister of the Maldives, as she attempts to sway US Climate Envoy John Kerry. And we'll take a peek inside the negotiations for the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that ended the war in Gaza – with one of the Qatari officials who helped make it happen.The Negotiators returns December 1, from Foreign Policy and Doha Debates -- and our special partner this season, the International Peace Institute. 

Since taking power, the Taliban have cracked down on human rights and deprived Afghan women and girls of fundamental freedoms. The outlook for productive engagement is dim. Yet there may have been a window, in the early months after the fall of the republic, to do things differently. Researcher Ashley Jackson speaks to aid workers and activists involved in direct negotiations with the Taliban as well as representatives from the U.S. and Taliban governments. And she takes a look at two intertwined questions: What might have been done differently then? And what should, or could, be done now?

Once it became clear that U.S. troops were leaving Afghanistan, the situation on the ground turned to panic. In August 2021, radio reporter Shirin Jaafari found herself in the middle of the effort to find safe passage for Najiba Noor, a 27-year-old Afghan policewoman who was the target of threats and harassment by the Taliban. For this episode, Shirin reconnects with Noor and speaks with other people directly involved in Digital Dunkirk—a mostly online, grassroots effort to help vulnerable Afghans get to safety.

When a diplomatic deal goes bad, the blame usually falls on the politicians. Often, we don’t even remember the names of the negotiators. But in the wake of the return of the Taliban, a lot of people have blamed one man: Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation. Khalilzad was born in Afghanistan but had served in the U.S. government since the 1980s. He was at Bonn, and he later served as the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, and the United Nations. Khalilzad sat down with reporter Andrew North to discuss what went wrong—and right—during the negotiations for peace in Afghanistan.

As soon as the Doha Agreement was signed, the clock started counting down to May 1, 2021—the day the United States had agreed to withdraw all troops. That gave the Afghan Republic and the Taliban 14 months to negotiate a power-sharing deal. That’s not a lot of time, even under the best of circumstances. Afghan American reporter Ali Latifi has an insider’s look at how friction within Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s administration delayed and derailed the negotiations. But there’s enough blame to go around, with the Taliban playing a waiting game and Washington refusing to intervene.

As a candidate for the U.S. presidency, Donald Trump vowed to end the war in Afghanistan. But seven months after his inauguration, he changed his mind, saying that the United States should “fight to win.”A year later, with the Taliban controlling or contesting more territory than at any point since 2001, representatives from the Trump administration traveled to Doha, Qatar, to open direct negotiations with the Taliban. Finalized in February 2020, the Doha agreement was hailed by the Taliban as a victory. The Afghan government called it a historic betrayal.Veteran Middle East correspondent Sebastian Walker has the story.

Join veteran Afghanistan reporter Andrew North as he speaks with an incredible lineup including Barnett Rubin, who shaped the interim Afghan government, and peace advocate Lisa Golden from Norway. They unveil the secretive ‘talks about talks’ that began in 2006 amidst intensifying conflict. Laurel Miller shares her experiences in negotiating peace, while Hekmat Karzai discusses the Taliban's leadership struggle following Mullah Omar's death. Together, they explore the challenges, mistrust, and the persistent hope for peace in Afghanistan.

Soraya L, an Australian Iranian investigative journalist, delves into the Bonn Conference negotiations to end the wars in Afghanistan post-9/11. The absence of the Taliban, selection of interim leaders like Karzai, and challenges in forming a stable government are highlighted. The complexities of power struggles, security force placement, and the crucial need for a political settlement in Afghanistan are explored.

We all remember how the story ends, with the fall of Kabul and the return of the Taliban. But in this special seven-episode season of The Negotiators, we’re going back to the beginning, to try to understand why some of the world’s smartest and most experienced negotiators failed for 20 years to mediate a peace deal in Afghanistan.