Carlo Ungaro

Carlo Ungaro is a former Italian diplomat. He spent sixteen years serving in Afghanistan. Between 2000 and 2007, he served as political adviser to the Italian led ISAF forces in Herat

The Clash of Civilizations revisited

Samuel P. Huntington’s oft-pilloried work, “The Clash of Civilizations”, has long lost its original academic potency. However it has growing leverage at the grass-roots level where the clash has been reinterpreted to justify growing islamophobia

By Carlo Ungaro

/ 24 Aug 2010

Petraeus's militias: the risk of civil war

Petraeus's proposed Afghan militias risk restoring the conditions that led Afghanistan to civil war in the 1990s. This, the Kabul conference and other initiatives have no hope unless civilian command of the military mission in Afghanistan is asserted, argues Carlo Ungaro.

By Carlo Ungaro

/ 2 Aug 2010

Afghan civil society must not be abandoned

Afghan civil society and NATO war aims: talk to the Taleban and all traditional leaders

By Carlo Ungaro

/ 23 Jul 2010

The antiquarian of Herat

Diplomatic reminiscences from Herat in the 1970s; delicate interventions, fragile civil society.

By Carlo Ungaro

/ 22 Jul 2010

Italy's “business as usual”

There is a certain kind of drift into a regime that has nothing to do with the introduction of paramilitary stances, Roman salutes or party uniforms: more to do with television

By Carlo Ungaro

/ 1 Jul 2010

Central Asia: the erupting volcano

The West turned a blind eye to the potential volatility of Central Asia because it was convenient, in Carlo Ungaro's view. Recent events in Kyrgyzstan show how dangerous this stance is. In adjacent areas of Afghanistan the discovery of mineral riches is likely further to complicate an already frau

By Carlo Ungaro

/ 23 Jun 2010

Is the Afghan "Jirgah" the way forward?

The "Peace Jirgah" called by President Karzai convened amidst accusations that the process has being rigged. But rather than dismissing it as another government failure, Carlo Ungaro says it should be seen as an instrument to help reconcile respected and valid Afghan traditions to the country’s as

By Carlo Ungaro

/ 14 Jun 2010

Afghanistan: stop prevaricating

Twenty years experience in Central Asia informs Carlo Ungaro's view that the allies should radically devolve power in Afghanistan and reconsider its international border with Pakistan

By Carlo Ungaro

/ 2 Jun 2010

An "exit strategy" is little use in the Afghan labyrinth

We need to break old assumptions if Afghanistan and Pakistan are to be secured, argues Carlo Ungaro

By Carlo Ungaro

/ 19 May 2010

Central Asia - the smouldering volcano

As the recent popular violence in Kyrgyzstan reminded us, Central Asia is strategically vital. The West needs to work with Russia, and China, to put in place a programme of pre-emptive damage control

By Carlo Ungaro

/ 27 Apr 2010

Kabul has never ruled Afghanistan

Is a centralised presidential republic really the best form of government for Afghanistan, asks Carlo Ungaro, after 16 years in the country? More regional autonomy would allow respected local chiefs (as opposed to war lords) to exercise their authority

By Carlo Ungaro

/ 27 Nov 2009