Analysis of Trump's foreign policy towards Afghanistan with emphasis on the 2020 peace agreement with the Taliban

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Political Science, University of Guilan, Iran

2 Department of Political Science, AllamehTabataba'i University (ATU)

3 Department of Regional Studies - Middle East Studies, University of Tehran

10.22080/jpir.2021.20888.1195

Abstract

With the coming to power of Donald Trump as President of the United States, the Afghanistan crisis, which has overshadowed Washington's foreign policy since 2001, entered a new phase. The noteworthy point at this stage is the official acceptance of the Taliban as a political and field reality in the field of power in Afghanistan, which has put the United States in the orbit of a peace approach with the Taliban and subsequently ending the war in Afghanistan. The main purpose of this article is to examine US foreign policy in peace with the Taliban. Based on this, using descriptive-analytical method and library resources, it raises the main question of how Trump's foreign policy in peace with the Taliban is explained and what are the most important factors influencing it? The findings show that Trump used a neo-separatist approach in concluding a peace agreement with the Taliban, which is a selective internationalism that offers a utilitarian foreign policy. In this context, the United States during the Trump era tried to be present in Afghanistan at the lowest possible cost and manage the crisis in this country. The most important factors influencing the peace between the United States and the Taliban can be examined in two levels: changes in US policies and the field situation and policies of the Afghan government.

Keywords

Main Subjects