About ACF
Who We Are
Afghan Covenant Forum (ACF) is a policy, research and dialogue initiative. We work to build understanding and support for two connected commitments: first, a credible covenant among consequential Afghan political leaders; and second, on that foundation, a renewed and durable Afghan–U.S. strategic relationship.
ACF begins from a clear premise: external support can strengthen Afghan political commitment, but it cannot create or replace it.
Why We Exist
Afghanistan’s most urgent problems—the Taliban’s repressive rule, the denial of basic rights, especially those of women and girls, and the continuing fragmentation of the forces opposing it—reflect a deeper and more persistent failure.
Internal political fragmentation enables external competition, and external competition deepens that fragmentation. Afghan political actors seek support from competing foreign powers, while those powers use Afghanistan’s divisions to advance their own interests. This makes cooperation at home less rewarding and recurring conflict more likely.
Five decades of war have left Afghanistan dependent on substantial international support. The answer is not to reject that support. It is to build enough political commitment among Afghans to sustain beneficial international partnerships without allowing rival powers to operate through internal divisions.
ACF exists to bring this missing political foundation into Afghan and American policy discussions.
What We Seek
ACF advocates an initial covenant among consequential Afghan political leaders. That commitment would not settle every political or constitutional question. It would establish a common purpose, require political differences to be addressed through agreed rules, protect basic rights and ensure that no faction seeks power through violence or competing foreign patrons.
As participation and public support grow, this initial commitment could develop into a broader National Covenant. It could also create a more coherent and reliable Afghan counterpart for a renewed relationship with the United States.
The principle is straightforward: Afghan commitment must come first, and international support should reinforce demonstrated commitment rather than substitute for it.
Peaceful Politics and Armed Resistance
Peaceful political action must remain the first course of action. Afghanistan’s experience shows that opposition to a common adversary does not by itself create lasting political unity. Armed coalitions can fragment once their immediate objective is achieved, particularly when their members pursue separate claims to power or depend on competing foreign patrons.
If every peaceful avenue is exhausted and armed resistance nevertheless becomes unavoidable, political agreement must precede and govern it. Any armed effort must remain politically accountable and bound by the commitments of the initial covenant. It must protect civilians, remain subordinate to a common political purpose and serve a negotiated peace.
Armed resistance must not become a collection of competing factional projects or a channel through which rival powers reproduce another proxy war. The objective cannot be merely to defeat a common adversary. It must also prevent that outcome from being followed by another struggle for unilateral power.
ACF does not present armed resistance as inevitable or military victory as Afghanistan’s solution. It argues that if resistance becomes unavoidable, Afghan political commitment must guide it from the beginning.
What We Do
ACF pursues its purpose through five connected activities:
Research and policy analysis: We examine Afghan political fragmentation, external competition, terrorism and political violence, the foundations of a National Covenant and the potential for renewed Afghan–U.S. engagement.
Publications: We translate our research into articles, policy briefs and longer papers written for policy and public audiences.
Occasional OSINT reporting: When relevant, we use verified publicly available information to report on political, security, terrorism, regional influence and human-rights developments connected to ACF’s areas of work.
Policy advocacy: We bring ACF’s analysis and central proposals into relevant Afghan and American policy discussions.
Consultations and dialogue: We engage individuals and institutions that can test our assumptions, challenge our conclusions and strengthen our work.
Our work focuses on national identity and equal citizenship, political power and restraint, the formation of a National Covenant, terrorism and political violence, regional competition, the lessons of the Republic, Afghanistan–U.S. relations and human rights—especially the rights of women and girls.
Who We Address
ACF speaks primarily to American policymakers and the wider U.S. policy community. We seek to explain why Afghanistan continues to affect American security and strategic interests, what credible Afghan political commitment would look like and how future engagement could proceed gradually on the basis of performance, mutual interest and verified conduct.
Our second principal audience is Afghan political leaders, policy thinkers, civil society and citizens concerned with the country’s future. We seek to encourage serious consideration of the shared commitments necessary to prevent another cycle of political fragmentation, foreign patronage and conflict.
ACF also engages relevant international and regional audiences where their perspectives can strengthen the analysis. Our central focus, however, remains the responsibilities and potential commitments of Afghans and Americans.
What ACF Is Not
ACF is not a political party, an armed movement, a government-in-waiting or a negotiating delegation. Its consultations and dialogue do not constitute political negotiations.
ACF does not claim to offer a completed political settlement, a new constitution or a predetermined blueprint for Afghanistan’s future. Those arrangements must emerge through a broader Afghan political process.
ACF does not call for an immediate American military return, an open-ended financial commitment or the restoration of the former Republic.
ACF’s role is analytical and advocacy-focused: to develop the case, subject it to serious scrutiny and bring it into policy debate.
The Outcome We Seek
ACF seeks to contribute to a functioning Afghanistan in which political power is shared and limited, political differences are resolved peacefully, basic rights are protected and institutions are capable of governing. Such a country would not provide safe haven to terrorist groups or live under the constant threat of another internal war. It would engage the United States and other international partners from a coherent national position while maintaining constructive relations with its neighbors and protecting its independence.
We are not searching for a perfect Afghanistan. We are working toward an Afghanistan that works.
Independent Analysis.
Practical Dialogue.
ACF advances evidence-based analysis and fosters constructive dialogue on Afghanistan’s political future.
Help Build the Conversation
Join a growing community of Afghans and friends of Afghanistan working for a peaceful and self-directed future.
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