Introduction: Anne Seyfferth, Director, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) Prague Office

Speaker: Alexey Yusupov, Afghanistan country director for the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) from 2015 - 2017, former head of the FES regional office for Central Asia in Almaty (2013 - 2015) 

Chair: Benjamin Tallis, Senior Researcher, Centre for European Security, Institute of International Relations Prague

Afghanistan has long been a site of intervention and is no stranger to foreign troops on its soil – whether the armies of Alexander the Great, the British Empire or the Soviet Union. Most recently, the Western intervention in the wake of the 9/11 attacks has seen the International Stabilisation and Assistance Force (ISAF) and there remains a US NATO-led presence in the country. However, it is not just the military that have been involved in these interventions – myriad civilian organisations also participate. 

In this talk, Alexey Yusupov will discuss his experience of working and living in Afghanistan, focusing on the role of civilian organisations in a country that it still experiencing conflict and military intervention. Based on this experience, he will also reflect on the possibilities that exist for ‘Western’ (and other foreign) organisations to act in such circumstances – as well as the desirability of them doing so. Yusupov will also discuss the connections between the situation in Afghanistan and domestic debates in Germany and Europe more widely, particularly on migration and providing protection to refugees coming from Afghanistan.

The talk will be followed by responses from experts and then an open Q&A session.

Working language: English.