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, English, 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, a significant number of Afghanistan's scholars, academics, legal professionals, and former public officials have left the country and established themselves in North America, Europe, and other regions. Many of these individuals previously taught at Afghan universities, served in government institutions and constitutional bodies, and contributed to human rights, justice, and rule of law. These scholars possess an unmatched understanding of Afghanistan: its laws and legal system, culture and society, economy and natural resources, and the internal and external actors shaping its peace and conflict dynamics. At the same time, courts, governments, law firms, businesses, international organizations, researchers, and civil society institutions outside Afghanistan increasingly require reliable, contextualized, and evidence-based knowledge about Afghanistan.
The Afghanistan Research & Consulting Center (ARCC) was established in July 2026 to bring this expertise together and make it accessible to institutions and communities seeking rigorous analysis of Afghanistan. ARCC provides a platform for Afghan scholars, researchers, and professionals to collaborate across disciplines and contribute to a deeper and more nuanced understanding of Afghanistan. Through research, policy analysis, professional consulting, and scholarly collaboration, the Center seeks to connect Afghanistan-related expertise with institutions that need it. 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, firsthand knowledge of Afghanistan.
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 English, Pashto, Dari, and Arabic
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
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 law, Islamic studies, Islam and human rights, Islam and gender, 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 law, Islam and human rights, and more
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
- 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