United States Institute of Peace

"This study presents an excellent illustration of the diversity of the groups and networks that are grouped under the term Taliban by the media and inexperienced analysts. Reconciliation in Afghanistan is well conceived and well written. It effectively suggests series of steps Afghans, the United States, and the international community might take as they all seek to turn a new page in the efforts to address the security and stability issues that continue to plague Afghanistan and the region."

—Thomas E. Gouttierre, Director, Center for Afghanistan Studies, University of Nebraska at Omaha

"As the Obama administration develops and implements its revised strategy on Afghanistan and Pakistan, a principle topic of debate is “reconciliation”—how to deal politically with Taliban and other insurgents who are not pursuing al-Qaeda’s global objectives in search of a political solution. Michael Semple brings to bear a wealth of practical experience on the ground in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He has spoken in-depth with more insurgent commanders than virtually any international official, and his long service in the region has equipped him with the knowledge, language skills, and personal networks to analyze such contacts in depth. The result is the most detailed and knowledgeable road map to date for how to pursue dialogue and negotiation with Taliban and other Islamist guerrillas in the area that are today sheltering the leadership of al-Qaeda."

—Barnett R. Rubin, Director of Studies and Senior Fellow, Center on International Cooperation, New York University

“This invaluable book offers a perspective on reconciliation that is available nowhere else in the literature on the subject. The author's comprehensive, balanced, and objective review of reconciliation initiatives and their effectiveness indicate a familiarity with his subject that is unmatched. Semple goes well beyond merely examining approaches to reconciliation, in providing the context necessary to understand why various strategies may have greater or lesser success.”

—Marvin Weinbaum, Middle East Institute

"Michael Semple’s Reconciliation in Afghanistan is based on a vast knowledge of the country and many discussions with the members of the Taliban. It is the best blueprint available about how to accomplish the complex and very necessary task of bringing ‘reconcilable’ Taliban into ordinary Afghan politics, arguing that it is far from impossible, but appropriately underlining the many obstacles that will be encountered on the way to this goal. Semple’s study is deeply researched and well-calibrated in its analyses and judgments."

—Peter Bergen, author of Holy War, Inc. and the Osama bin Laden I Know

Michael Semple

Michael Semple is a professor at the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice at Queen’s University Belfast. He studies innovative approaches to peacemaking and engagement with militant Islamic movements in Afghanistan and South Asia. He worked as a political officer on the United Nations team that helped to implement the Bonn Accord in Afghanistan after 2001 and served as deputy to the European Union special representative to Afghanistan from 2004 to 2007. He continues to advise governments and parties involved in the Afghan peace process. From 2009 to 2013, he was a senior research fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, and he also participated in the Afghanistan-Pakistan Senior Advisory Group at the United States Institute for Peace. His writing has appeared in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Quartz and other publications.