— CENTER FOR DIALOGUE, POLICY & RESEARCH
Evidence. Dialogue. Policy.
Afghan-led solutions for Afghanistan’s future.
Who We Are
Mundigak brings Afghan researchers, practitioners and community voices together to do something Afghanistan has had too little of: produce credible evidence, and create trusted space for Afghans to reason about it. We connect research to dialogue, and dialogue to policy so that decisions about Afghanistan are informed by Afghans and grounded in fact, not speculation.
What We Do
Three pillars of our work
A disciplined link between research, dialogue, and policy — each reinforcing the others.
Research
Independent, field-informed analysis of governance, society, the economy, and the environmental pressures shaping Afghan livelihoods.
Dialogue
Inclusive forums that bring Afghans across ethnic, gender, regional and political lines into informed, respectful exchange.
Policy
Clear, evidence-based recommendations that sharpen public debate and inform the people who make decisions.
— Research Areas
Where we focus
Four interconnected research areas shaping Afghanistan’s governance, society, economy, environment and access to opportunity.
Governance & Society
Economy & Livelihoods
Climate & Environment
Human Rights & Inclusion
Knowledge, openly shared
Written for both specialist and non-specialist audiences. All publications are publicly accessible.
State–society relations in transition
Research Report · Forthcoming 2026
An in-depth analysis of institutional trust and social cohesion across Afghan communities.
Livelihoods under economic contraction
Policy Brief · Forthcoming 2026
Practical, evidence-based options for protecting household resilience and employment.
Water scarcity & displacement
Working Paper · Forthcoming 2026
Mapping climate vulnerability and its cascading effects on rural livelihoods.
Afghanistan needs Afghan-led evidence
Afghanistan does not lack opinions about its future. What it lacks is shared, credible evidence and trusted spaces where Afghans can examine it together.
Most analysis of Afghanistan is produced about Afghans, by outside institutions. Mundigak is built the other way round: Afghan-led, rooted in field realities, and pairing research with genuine dialogue.
Rigorous Research
Methodologically sound analysis of Afghanistan’s political, social, economic and environmental conditions.
Evidence-Based Policy
Translating research into practical, actionable recommendations.
Inclusive Dialogue
Spaces where Afghans can voice grievances, build understanding and identify shared solutions across divides.
Mundigak: a name rooted in civilisation and exchange
Mundigak takes its name from one of Afghanistan’s oldest known cities, a Bronze Age settlement near Kandahar, thriving four thousand years ago as a centre of craft, trade and exchange across Central Asia and the Indus Valley.
We chose this name deliberately. Mundigak is a reminder that the territory now called Afghanistan has been a centre of civilisation, exchange, and governance for millennia. The work of this institute begins from that foundation, not from the assumption that Afghanistan’s problems define its possibilities.
There are several ways to strengthen independent, Afghan-led research, dialogue and policy engagement.
Become a Member
For individuals with professional or scholarly interest in evidence-based research, inclusive dialogue and informed policy discussion on Afghanistan.
Support Our Work
Independent support helps sustain rigorous research, inclusive dialogue platforms, policy briefs and engagement with Afghan and international stakeholders.
Partner With Us
For research collaboration, dialogue participation, policy engagement and institutional partnerships, contact Mundigak directly.