Since its return to power in 2021, Afghanistan’s Taliban have struggled to transform their insurgent movement into a functioning government. Beneath an outward show of unity, the hardline regime is plagued by deep-rooted factionalism, economic mismanagement and growing public dissatisfaction. According to analyst Mabin Biek, writing for The Cipher in an article titled “Taliban’s Internal Power Struggle: A Regime on the Brink,” the group’s greatest existential threat may not be another foreign intervention but rather its own internal fractures. If left unchecked, these divisions could accelerate the Taliban’s collapse and plunge Afghanistan into yet another prolonged crisis. One of the most...
