Afghanistan, five years on: our correspondent visits

August 14, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Five years after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, the country is safer than it has been in decades—but that peace has come at a brutal cost. The Economist’s South Asia bureau chief, Tom Sass, spent ten days traveling through Kabul, Herat, and Kandahar, covering about a thousand kilometers by road. What he found was a nation where violence has fallen sharply, the Taliban have consolidated power under a hardline emir, and ordinary Afghans are struggling with poverty, hunger, and a crushing lack of opportunity. The episode offers a ground-level view of a country that the West has largely abandoned to isolation, and asks whether any path forward exists.

The peace of the gun

The most immediate change since the Taliban takeover is the dramatic drop in violence. “It’s actually quite safe,” Sass reports. The Taliban flag flies in cornfields and town squares; checkpoints exist around major cities but are “fairly light touch.” Cities feel calm. But this calm is enforced by a harsh moral code. Music has been banned from cafes. Women must cover themselves completely; men are expected to grow beards. The vice and virtue police patrol the streets. And reminders of the Taliban’s victory are everywhere: “Just round the corner from where we are you’ll find the government ministries—outside the ministries you’ll see a Taliban security official sitting in the top of an American

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What you'll learn

1 (00:00) **Introduction: The Question of Afghanistan Five Years On** - The episode sets up the central mystery: what has happened to the Afghan people since the Taliban returned to power after America's longest war ended.
2 (04:15) **First Impressions: Peace, Poverty, and Harsh Rule** - Tom reports on the most striking observations from his ten-day, 1,000-kilometer road trip through Kabul, Herat, and Kandahar.
3 (05:33) **The Consolidation of Hardline Power** - Explains how the Taliban regime has shifted internally over the past five years, concentrating power under a single, hardline Emir.
4 (06:46) **Daily Life: Empty Pockets and a Healthcare Crisis** - Describes the severe economic and social struggles facing ordinary Afghans, including a collapsing healthcare system and a refugee crisis.
5 (07:53) **The Crushing of Women's and Girls' Freedoms** - Details the systematic restrictions imposed on women and girls, which have been gradually tightened by decrees from the Emir.
6 (09:08) **Afghanistan as a Pariah State** - Examines the country's international isolation and its surprising lack of interest in re-engaging with the outside world.
7 (10:08) **The West's Failed Strategy and a Hard Truth** - Analyzes the failure of Western coercion and the emerging signs of a pragmatic shift in engagement.

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Show Notes

Five years after the American withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Taliban show little sign of moderation. Our correspondent reports from the country on what life is like for ordinary people. A giant earthquake reveals two very different Colombias. And celebrating the life of Gurkha climber, Nirmal Purja, who died in an avalanche.

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Guests and host:

Tom Sasse, South Asia bureau chief
Claire McQue, Latin America writer
Ann Wroe, obituaries editor
Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered:

Afghanistan, Taliban, sanctions
Colombia, earthquake, Espriella
Nirmal Purja, mountaineer, Everest, avalanche

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