Course: A disputed Afghanistan - Navigating a way forward (5 ECTS)

Three years after the Taliban takeover, the international community continues to struggle to both understand and find ways to support the people of Afghanistan as they face increasing poverty, food insecurity, and limits to their participation, rights and voice in the Taliban’s vision of Afghan society.  

Are there opportunities for change, and if so, how might this change happen?

Time and location

Target group

Policy makers, practitioners, aid workers, academics and the media

Participants wanting to obtain 5 ECTS points upon passing the course, must fulfil the admission requirements to do so. Participants must be able to document that they have obtained a bachelor degree or equivalent.
Participants who lack such qualifications can follow the course and obtain a course certificate upon completion.

All participants must be 25 years or older and be able to document at least two years of work experience.

About the course

This unique course will provide both an understanding of the key historical and political events that have created Afghanistan as we see it today, and a framework to navigate a way forward for policy makers, practitioners, aid workers, and the media. 

The course will be held in conjunction with Afghanistan Week (AW) 2024 in Oslo, Norway, where participants combine two days of lectures and discussion, with three days of participation in AW sessions where panels of international and Afghan experts provide up-to-date insights on key issues.

Participants will choose one theme or question covered in the course that they would like to explore in more depth, and spend the following days attending the Afghanistan Week sessions, where they will listen to a variety of experts sharing their experience and reflections on 'three Years of Taliban Rule'.   

The course can be taken either:

• Online version (lectures 24-25 October, streaming of AW 30 October - 1 November), or
• In-person version (lectures 28-29 October, in-person. Oslo
• Afghanistan Week sessions 30 October - 1 November (In-person participants will be able to interact in the sessions and with presenters, and attend AW events not being streamed for free. Some sessions will be available by streaming for online participants on the course

Participants are expected to read some articles and watch a recorded background lecture before the start of the course.  Participants can choose to take the course for a certificate, or for 5 study points (Master's level), which requires a brief paper in addition to the final presentation.  

Course content

• Overview of developments in Afghanistan since 1979 that have led to the current situation
• Current structure and decision-making under the Taliban authorities
• Strategies and priorities of the Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan - who are the winners and losers?
• Engagement with the Taliban government without legitimising the regime
• Current opportunities and barriers faced by men and women in Afghanistan
• What role do the Afghan diaspora play in all this?

Examination

To obtain a certificate, we require participants to develop a presentation of 15 minutes duration followed by a 5 minute Q&A session. This can be prepared either individually or as a group of 2 or three maximum. These will all be given online.

The presentation will follow a framework template, e.g. stating the topic and justification for its selection; context and problem being addressed;  key challenges/opportunities for mitigation; mitigation/solutions/recommendations; impact and practical issues around the outcome of recommendations being implemented; etc.

To obtain 5 credits, each participant is required, in addition to the presentation, to submit an individual paper of no more than 10  pages on a pre-agreed topic. They will receive individual guidance around the framing of the topic (we will also provide a short list of possible topics to consider and select from) along with structure of the paper.

The examination presentation and paper will be graded on a pass/fail basis.

Lecturers

Karim Merchant

During his 27 year involvement in Afghanistan, Karim Merchant has worked closely with local and international NGOS, as a Chief Technical Advisor to several UN Agencies, and for previous Afghan administrations as a Director of Operations, Project Formulator and latterly as Senior Advisor to the Ministries of Rural Development, Agriculture, Finance and Sub-National Governance. He is currently a consultant on policy, programme and project development and management in the fields of humanitarian assistance, food security, conflict-sensitive development and peacebuilding. Karim is a visiting senior lecturer at Noragric on Afghanistan. During a 10 year collaboration with NORAGRIC he has delivered post-graduate courses on Statebuilding, Security and Development, Fragile and Conflict Affected States and Political Economy of Afghanistan.

Ingrid Nyborg

Ingrid Nyborg is a Professor at Noragric, with over 30 years experience working with universities, NGO’s and communities in Africa and South Asia in rural development. She has for the last 20 years worked on Pakistan and Afghanistan, where her teaching and research has focused on post-conflict development, livelihood security, gender, human security, powered negotiations and post-conflict police reform. She was leader of the recently completed EC Horizon 2020 research and innovation project ‘Community-Based Policing and Post-Conflict Police Reform (ICT4COP)’, which studied police reform in 12 countries across the globe, and she is now heading the ICT4OP Research and Learning Center at Noragric, NMBU.

Course fee

The course fee covers teaching, online resources, exams, and a simple lunch during the two-day physical gathering in Oslo. Travel costs and accommodation are not included.

Cancellation

Registration is binding after the registration deadline. For cancellations after the registration date, or in the case of non-attendance, the full course fee will be charged. The course is subject to sufficient enrollment for it to take place.

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