Afghanistan

Afghanistan is situated in a volatile region and has been for centuries. Elections, which were widely seen as being overshadowed by fraud, ballot-rigging and violence, took place in June 2014. The former foreign minister and ethnic Tajik, Abdullah Abdullah, acknowledged his defeat and accepted Ashraf Ghani as the new president. He was then announced CEO of the country, a position nowhere to be found in the Afghan constitution. The capturing of the provincial capital Kunduz by Taliban forces in September 2015, the first provincial capital falling to complete Taliban rule since 2001, sent shockwaves through the country, even if their rule was short-lived and the city was re-taken just days later. That the Taliban publically called on the Islamic State not to enter its territory, not to become a competitor and – bluntly spoken – to stay off its turf, shows an increasing nervousness among the Islamic radical groups in the region.