The U.S. Withdrawal, Taliban Takeover, and Ontological (In)security in Afghanistan

Abstract

Security discussions of the Taliban’s second takeover of Afghanistan center on physical security threats, neglecting the ontological aspect related to how security entails the metaphysics of life—being, feeling alive, or having a sense of self. This article examines this ontological threat to the Afghan people to complement the security discussion and open up more avenues of dialog. I use ontological security to explain the Afghans’ behavior toward the Taliban takeover and ask how does the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan pose a security threat to urban Afghans? Why are urbanite Afghans paranoiac about the Taliban presence to the extent that some choose to die by falling from a moving aircraft? I use the ontological security analytical framework and discursive approach to finding answers. I argue that the Taliban takeover creates ontological insecurity that threatens urban Afghans’ sense of ordinary living or being in the world. Specifically, ontological insecurity creates significant and chronic uncertainties and dangers to Afghans. This is especially so regarding the urbanites with higher socioeconomic status, whose being in the world is threatened as their ordinary living conditions are likely to be contested by the Taliban. The contest is asymmetric, favoring the Taliban. Such uncertainty of existential conditions leads to mistrust of Urban Afghans’ basic sense of safety and a misrecognition of their true identity. Thus, their actions and behaviors have been consequent attempts to respond to the anxieties and risks to their existential position. This work contributes to the ontological security literature, helping fill the gap in the security discussions in international relations and serves policy relevance.

Note From the Editor

“…The following two articles deal particularly adroitly with strategic environment and critical security issues. Ameyaw-Brobbey (2023) asks if Asia's future is in Europe's past, examining the intricate similarities and differences between Asia's contemporary strategic environment and post-1914 Europe. I think it is likely that WAJ readers will find the results of this study as surprising and convincing as I and the anonymous reviewers did.…”

Note From the Editor

“…Fourth, as an addition to the customary focus on physical security threats, Ameyaw‐Brobbey (2023) uses ontological (in)security to explain the Afghans’ behavior toward the second Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and explores how it poses a security threat to urban Afghans. In “The U.S. Withdrawal, Taliban Takeover, and Ontological (In)security in Afghanistan,” the author contends that ontological insecurity creates significant and chronic uncertainties and dangers to Afghans, particularly urbanites with higher socioeconomic status, and such uncertainty of existential conditions leads to mistrust regarding urban Afghans’ basic sense of safety and a misrecognition of their true identity.…”

Note From the Editor

“…Our next pieces contribute strongly to World Affairs’ staple list of articles on security and humanitarian intervention issues (see also Ameyaw-Brobbey 2023; Hayden 2016; Lenczowski 2016; “Open Letter” 2022). Contrary to literature focusing on humanitarian norms or geopolitical interests as drivers of humanitarian intervention, Kushi (2023) argues that the Kosovo Crisis “earned” a NATO military intervention due to shifting conflict perceptions encouraging Western institutional involvement—a point she argues may well apply to other global crises.…”

“…As an excellent counterpoint, Szandzik (2023) provides an in-depth discussion of the factors surrounding President Clinton's decision to intervene in Bosnia in 1995 and the importance that humanitarian concerns, as well as others, played in that decision. Staying with the topic of security, Ameyaw-Brobbey and Amable (2023) propose a detailed theoretical framework of “symmetric interest” to assess China-Kazakhstan relations from a non-external security perspective, while Ramachandran (2023) looks at the varied impacts of pursuing the China model in Sino-Sri Lankan bilateral relations.…”