Continuity or Change? US Policy Towards Afghanistan Through Presidential Terms (2001-2021)

Abstract

The paper surveys the American policy towards Afghanistan since 2001 to answer two interrelated questions: Can the American policy towards Afghanistan under different presidential terms be viewed as continuity of the same policy or change with each presidential term? And, what explains such a continuity or change? The paper traces major policy initiates under each of the four presidents during this time. The study finds that American policy towards Afghanistan can largely be viewed as continuity of the same trend with slight changes that follow from one president’s term in office to the other. The changes are not reflective of the change in vision of the change in presidency. Rather, the changes in broader policy culminating in the withdrawal of US troops in August 2021 can be attributed to the shift in American public opinion towards the war