Landlocked and resource poor, Afghanistan is at risk of unwelcome external influences, its sovereignty and traditions vulnerable. The Afghanistan issue has been raging for over three decades and is one of the most complex and intractable issues in the world today. It involves multiple actors, both local and international, with varying interests and stakes in the conflict. The conflict that began in late 1970s has since become increasingly complex and entrenched, with a number of actors involved, including the United States, the United Nations has for decades played an important role in Afghanistan, from coordinating humanitarian response to financing reconstruction and acting as a guarantor for peace and stability. It has caused significant disruption to the lives of Afghans, with widespread displacement, poverty, and violence.

The Afghanistan issue has its roots in the Soviet-Afghan War of 1979-1989. This was an invasion by the Soviet Union of Afghanistan, which was opposed by a number of Afghan resistance groups. The issue was an important part of the Cold War and saw the United States provide arms and financial support to the Afghan resistance. Following the withdrawal of the Soviet forces in 1989, a civil war broke out between different Afghan factions, leading to the emergence of the Taliban in 1994.

China’s longer-term strategic and commercial interests in Afghanistan include its deposits of rare earths and other essential minerals for manufacturing. The role of superpowers in the Afghanistan battle has been sizable, with America and Russia playing a chief function for the reason for Soviet-Afghan warfare. America has been immediately concerned inside the battle due to the fact 2001, whilst it released  military intervention in the country in reaction to the 11th of September assaults. Allegedly, Russia has also been involved in the warfare, imparting fingers and economic help to the Taliban and other militant businesses in Afghanistan, however there’s no sizable evidence to support such claims.

The potential for superpowers US, China and Russsia to resolve the Afghanistan issue is fraught with difficulty. Superpowers have limited leverage in the conflict due to the complexity of the situation and the number of actors involved. For the United States and Russia, the issue is also a geopolitical struggle, with each side seeking to gain influence in the Region. For some time, China has shown intents of gradually recognizing the Taliban as an important political player in Afghanistan. Since 2014, Taliban leaders have been visiting China (Understanding China in Taliban-led Afghanistan, Published Aug. 25, 2021 By Dr. Chulanee Attanayake & Zheng Haiqi) , and Beijing seems to have accepted their stake in Afghan domestic politics.

During the second China–Pakistan–-Afghanistan trilateral dialogue, China urged the Taliban to join the Afghan peace process at an early date.4 Having observed how the Taliban have continued winning on the battleground since 2020, Beijing realised that the group’s return to power was inevitable. As the Taliban gained official recognition as a political party after signing the Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan, also known as the Doha Agreement, with the United States in February 2020, China enhanced its engagement with the Taliban. In the fourth China–Pakistan–Afghanistan trilateral dialogue held on 3 June 2020, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi officially welcomed the Taliban’s return to “mainstream” politics. The negotiations have been plagued by delays, but the Taliban and Afghan government reached an agreement on a set of rules and procedures in early December. This procedural agreement is a small but significant step forward in the two sides’ pursuit of a political settlement to end decades of war.

China, which shares a very short border with Afghanistan, has not accepted any Afghan refugees. The only people it might, albeit reluctantly, protect are the Uyghurs who fled Xinjiang Province and found refuge in Afghanistan. The Chinese perspective on the situation can be gleaned from an article published in the Chinese Communist Party publication Global Times, which suggests that the American withdrawal from Afghanistan is part of a larger superpower dynamic. When India hosted an Afghanistan summit on November 10,2021, the Chinese press downplayed the chances of a positive outcome because China and Pakistan were not present; according to Chinese analysts, India aimed to “use the event to demonstrate its influence in regional affairs.”

In order to understand the potential for the superpowers to bring about a resolution to the Afghanistan issue, it is important to understand the motivations of the different parties involved. The Afghan government is seeking to maintain its power and stability, while the Taliban is seeking to gain control of the country and to impose its hardline version of Islamic law. The US and Russia have different interests in the conflict. The US is seeking to ensure that Afghanistan does not become a safe haven for terrorist groups, while Russia is seeking to counter US influence in the region. Al-Qaeda and other militant groups are seeking to establish an Islamic caliphate in Afghanistan.

The potential consequences of the superpowers intervening in the Afghanistan conflict are complex and far-reaching. On the one hand, there is the potential for the superpowers to bring about a resolution to the conflict and to bring stability to the region. On the other hand, there is the potential for the intervention to escalate the conflict and to further entrench the different parties involved. There is the potential for the intervention to have a negative impact on the region, with the superpowers seeking to gain influence and power in the region. There is also the potential for the intervention to cause further displacement and suffering for the Afghan people.

The role of the United Nations in resolving the Afghanistan conflict is critical. The UN has the potential to play a key role in bringing the different parties to the negotiating table and in facilitating a resolution to the conflict. The UN has already played a role in the conflict, with its special envoy to Afghanistan working to bring the different parties together and to encourage negotiations. The UN has the potential to play a role in monitoring and enforcing a peace agreement, should one be reached. The UN has also been involved in the humanitarian response to the conflict, providing aid and assistance to those affected by the conflict.

Ultimately, in order to resolve the Afghanistan issue, it is important for all parties involved to understand the motivations of the different actors and to work together to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict. The role of the United Nations in this process is critical, with the potential to play a key role in facilitating a resolution to the conflict.

The nation or nations that help shape Afghanistan’s future will gain a moral and diplomatic victory in the global arena. A victory like this is critical for the United States, which sees itself as the leader of the free world and a democratic alternative to China and Russia’s autocratic regimes. According to a joint piece published on November 26,2021 by the Chinese and Russian ambassadors in Washington, “military intervention in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya, as well as ‘democratic transformation,’ do nothing but harm.” For the time being, Afghanistan’s future appears clouded, and given the ideological differences between the superpowers, it is likely to be shaped as much, if not more, by US-China geopolitical competition as by developments on the ground and Afghan people’s needs.