Does the World Need to Recognize the Taliban?

The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan collapsed on August 15, 2021 following the Taliban’s remarkably quick takeover of the capital, Kabul. While a Taliban delegate characterized the talks as “a step to legitimize Afghan government,” Norway’s Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said that the talks were “not a legitimation or recognition of the Taliban.” Earlier, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian had stated in a televised interview that the recognition of the Taliban was “not currently of relevance for France.” In a similar vein, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a U.N. summit in September 2021 that recognizing the Taliban’s government was not on Russia’s agenda. Despite recruiting efforts to lobby for the Taliban government’s international recognition, Pakistan has also decided not to rush into recognizing the Taliban’s rule itself without consulting regional and international powers including China, Turkey, and the United States. Neither has the Taliban government proved efficient in fulfilling Afghanistan’s international obligations, including, but not limited to, the protection of human rights and women’s rights. Thus understood, the continuation and increase of cultural and educational relations with Afghanistan does not signal Germany’s inclination to recognize the Taliban government.