Reflecting on America’s Withdrawal from Afghanistan: The View From Southeast Asia

• Published date: 01 October 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0095327X221102475
• Author: Terence Lee
• Date: 01 October 2023
• Subject Matter: Commentaries

https://doi.org/10.1177/0095327X221102475

Armed Forces & Society

2023, Vol. 49(4) 1013 –1026

© The Author(s) 2022

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DOI: 10.1177/0095327X221102475

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Commentary

Reflecting on America’s

Withdrawal From

Afghanistan: The View

From Southeast Asia

Terence Lee1

Abstract

This essay reflects on the broad contours of the war in Afghanistan from Southeast

Asia’s perspective. While the United States’ withdrawal from Kabul was calamitous,

the pessimism about America’s role in Southeast Asia has been overstated. The

United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan was largely inconsequential for the

region. Southeast Asian states deftly mixed their support for America’s campaign in

Afghanistan and the broader war on terror without being seen as too sympathetic,

including, in some instances, condemnation of America’s attacks on Islam. Regional

governments balanced their domestic political interests with their foreign policy

objectives. The abrupt Afghan withdrawal may instead have positive outcomes,

as the United States boosted its courtship with countries of Southeast Asia and

the broader Indo-Pacific region through new security arrangements such as the

Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) and the Australian, U.K., and U.S. trilateral

pact (AUKUS).

Keywords

Afghanistan war, Southeast Asia, China

This essay reflects on the broad contours of America’s war in Afghanistan from

Southeast Asia’s perspective. After 20 years of counterinsurgency and nation-building,

1Department of Political Science, National University of Singapore, Singapore

Corresponding Author:

Terence Lee, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, National University of Singapore,

Singapore.

Email: terence_lee@nus.edu.sg

1102475AFSXXX10.1177/0095327X221102475Armed Forces & Society XX(X)Lee

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