Afghanistan’s president Ashraf Ghani fled the country on August 14, leading to a complete collapse in government administration and a rapid Taliban takeover of the entire country. A one-time Abu Dhabi based correspondent for CNN and former anchor for Al Jazeera in Doha, Australia’s own Stan Grant brings a depth of in-region experience to the analysis of Afghan affairs.
We ask Stan Grant how the Taliban were able to sweep to power so rapidly, who was responsible for the collapse of American influence in Kabul, what the return of the Taliban means for Afghanistan — and the world. We’ll also be asking Grant how identity has shaped politics in Afghanistan, seeking to learn lessons from Afghanistan that might teach us about Australian society and our own senses of belonging.
Stan Grant is a respected journalist and former ABC Global Affairs and Indigenous Affairs Analyst. In early 2020, Stan released On Identity (Hachette) a book that explores how identity is being hijacked to incite hate.