Brokers betrayed: The afterlife of Afghan interpreters employed by western armies

Abstract

Brokers have long been under scrutiny for their purported disloyalty, but brokers' attachments to and expectations of the parties they mediate for, remain largely neglected. This article contributes to existing scholarship on brokerage by reversing the much-discussed theme of betrayal by brokers, focussing instead on betrayal of brokers. It maps three forms of betrayal -interpersonal; institutional and ideologicaldrawing on unique empirical material, including interviews with Afghan interpreters who worked for Western armies. It argues that the betrayal of brokers is facilitated by conditions of reduced demand and weak social ties in an unequal global order. In cases where the brokers' remit is largely dictated by the patron, brokers stand more to lose than to gain.

Agents of order? Brokerage and empowerment in development and conflict

“…In this special issue, de Jong's (2022) study of Afghan interpreters employed by Western armies provides a particularly apt illustration of how fragmentation shapes broker–patron relationships. She describes how this relationship shifted: When, in the early days, the Western army was highly dependent on a limited number of interpreters, they were treated relatively well, and their requests were taken seriously.…”

“…Goodhand and Walton's (2022a) paper on frontier brokerage in Sri Lanka and de Jong's (2022) paper on Afghan interpreters both highlight how sudden shifts in the political landscape can rapidly undermine the ability of co‐opted brokers who are closely aligned with powerful patrons to maintain their previous brokerage role. de Jong's (2022) paper represents an extreme example of this dynamic where the patron (Western armies) withdrew entirely from Afghanistan in August 2021, leaving many interpreters extremely vulnerable to retributive attacks from the Taliban.…”

“…Goodhand and Walton's (2022a) paper on frontier brokerage in Sri Lanka and de Jong's (2022) paper on Afghan interpreters both highlight how sudden shifts in the political landscape can rapidly undermine the ability of co-opted brokers who are closely aligned with powerful patrons to maintain their previous brokerage role. de Jong's (2022) paper represents an extreme example of this dynamic where the patron (Western armies) withdrew entirely from Afghanistan in August 2021, leaving many interpreters extremely vulnerable to retributive attacks from the Taliban. Goodhand and Walton (2022a) and Pope (2022) highlight instances where the demand for brokerage comes primarily from the central state to secure control over marginalised or contested regions or from marginalised communities themselves in their attempts to access resources (such as security or resources) controlled by more powerful actors (Meehan & Plonski, 2017).…”

From Migrant Crisis to Migrant Critique

“…Both in-and outside of Afghanistan, Afghans who had worked for Western forces, engaged in political activities such as protests, strategic litigation, and exposure of injustices through (social) media, together with their allies. They also founded associations and support organisations in the years preceding the disastrous withdrawal in August 2021 (De Jong, 2019) and continued making their voices heard after the Taliban take-over (e.g. De Jong & Sarantidis, 2022, p. 49).…”