The impending international military withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014 and political transition raises a range of issues of great import for Afghanistan and the wider world.

Of particular concern is the foreboding sense that withdrawal will leave a political and strategic vacuum in Afghanistan which would not only impact upon the state (its institutions and peoples) but have ramifications for the neighbouring Southwest Asian region.

This video features a presentation by Professor William Maley from the ANU Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy.

The presentation forms part of the 'Afghanistan in Southwest Asia: influences and challenges' public lecture hosted by the Asia- Pacific College of Diplomacy at The Australian National University, with support from the Research School of Asia and the Pacific.