Independent research and expert analysis on Afghanistan.
Expert reports, country conditions research, policy analysis, and legal translation by scholars who taught law in Afghanistan, served on its constitutional bodies, and read its sources in Pashto, Dari, and Arabic.
Expertise rooted in Afghanistan. Insight beyond conventional consulting.
Who we are
ARCC brings together an exceptional network of Afghan scholars, legal professionals, researchers, and practitioners with deep firsthand knowledge of Afghanistan's law, society, institutions, culture, conflict and peace processes, natural resources, and political landscape. This unique combination of expertise and experience allows ARCC to provide insightful, rigorous, and context-sensitive research and consulting services tailored to the needs of our clients.
Mission
To advance high-quality interdisciplinary research, policy analysis, and professional consulting that inform sound policy, strengthen institutions, and promote human rights, justice, and evidence-based decision-making on Afghanistan and related global issues.
Vision
To serve as an independent center of excellence and a trusted bridge between rigorous scholarship and practical policy, amplifying Afghan scholarly voices and advancing knowledge on Afghanistan and the wider region.
Why the Center
Since 2021, most of Afghanistan's legal scholars have been living and working abroad. The people who taught its law, served on its constitutional bodies, and led its human rights institutions are now at universities and research centers in the United States and Europe. At the same time, courts, governments, companies, and organizations outside Afghanistan need accurate knowledge of Afghan law and society more than ever.
The Center was founded in 2026 to bring that expertise together in one place. Its principal and affiliated experts have held appointments at Kabul and Balkh Universities, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, and the Independent Commission for Overseeing the Implementation of the Constitution, and are now at research institutions including Oxford, Warwick, Utrecht, and the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Lund. The Center is funded through professional fees and research grants and accepts no funding that conditions its findings.
Areas of work
Services
The Center works with governments, companies and investors, international organizations, universities, law firms, and cultural institutions. Every engagement is carried out by scholars and practitioners with direct experience of Afghan law and institutions.
Legal, Islamic law & policy advisory
For investment in Afghanistan
International companies entering Afghanistan in energy, mining, infrastructure, and trade find few published rules to review. Contracts, licensing, labor, taxation, and dispute resolution are governed by Sharia as interpreted and applied by the current authorities, together with decrees that can change without notice. ARCC helps investors, their counsel, and their boards understand this environment before they commit and while they operate.
- Legal and regulatory monitoring: analysis of Afghan laws, regulations, decrees, and administrative practice relevant to your operations
- Islamic law and Sharia advisory: analysis of the Islamic-law questions that arise in investment, contractual, governance, employment, and community matters
- Government and stakeholder mapping: analysis of the relevant ministries, institutions, professional bodies, scholars, and other stakeholders
- Community and cultural advisory: research on local communities, cultural practices, expectations, and potential sources of misunderstanding or conflict
- Executive briefings and training: confidential briefings for executives and international staff on the legal, religious, institutional, and cultural environment
Commissioned research & policy analysis
Independent studies grounded in original sources
Independent studies, policy papers, and evidence reviews on Afghan law, governance, human rights, and society, for institutions that need analysis based on original-language sources and direct experience rather than secondary reporting.
- Independent studies and evidence reviews
- Policy papers and briefings
- Country and thematic reports on law, governance, human rights, and society
- Original-language research in Pashto, Dari, and Arabic
- Analysis informed by direct experience inside Afghan institutions
Consulting & training
Briefings, curriculum, and capacity building
Briefings, curriculum development, and capacity building for organizations working on Afghan matters, from the legal and cultural context of client interviews to graduate instruction in Islamic and comparative constitutional law.
- Briefings for teams new to Afghan matters
- Curriculum development and guest instruction
- Capacity building for legal, humanitarian, and policy staff
- Legal and cultural context for client interviews and casework
- Graduate-level teaching in Islamic and comparative constitutional law
Culture, arts & heritage
Research, curation, and documentation
Research, curatorial advice, and expert consultation on Afghan contemporary art, traditional music, and cultural heritage, including documentation of Afghan musical and artistic traditions and cultural context for exhibitions, programs, and publications.
- Documentation of Afghan musical and artistic traditions
- Curatorial advice for exhibitions and programs
- Cultural context for publications and media
- Expert consultation on contemporary art, traditional music, and ethnomusicology
- Women’s art in Afghanistan and Afghan arts in exile
Specialized legal translation
Pashto, Dari, and Arabic
Legal translation prepared by legal scholars familiar with the documents and the institutions that produced them, with a signed certificate of accuracy suitable for U.S. courts and USCIS.
- Court judgments and decrees
- Identity and civil documents
- Land records and contracts
- Threat letters and other evidentiary documents
- Signed certificate of accuracy for U.S. courts and USCIS
Afghan immigration & refugee research
Expert reports for counsel
ARCC provides independent research and expert analysis to attorneys and authorized legal practitioners handling immigration, asylum, refugee, and humanitarian protection matters involving Afghan nationals, and is available for telephonic and video testimony.
- Country conditions research
- Legal and institutional analysis
- Expert reports and declarations
- Telephonic and video testimony
- Research on persecution, gender-based violence, human rights, and conditions affecting individuals in Afghanistan
Primary, original-language
Analysis starts from the legal texts, decrees, and case practice themselves, read in Pashto, Dari, and Arabic, rather than from second-hand country reporting.
Institutional memory
The Center's experts taught in Afghanistan's institutions, led them, and served on them over several decades and several changes of government.
Independence
The Center is funded through professional fees and research grants. It accepts no funding that conditions its findings and does not work on behalf of any government or political party.
Contact the Center
For research, policy analysis, advisory work, training, cultural and heritage projects, expert reports, or certified legal translation, describe the scope, the timeline, and any deadline. The Center will respond with availability and terms. Please do not send confidential materials before an engagement is in place.
Contact Us