Mr. Akash Nayak

College of William & Mary

Bio

Akash Nayak is a student at William & Mary, majoring in Economics and International Relations. He is the Editor-in-Chief of The Monitor Journal of International Relations and has previously interned with AidData, U.S. Pacific Command, and the Bridging Divides Initiative. Akash was awarded a 2024 Critical Language Scholarship to study Hindi in Jaipur, India. His research interests include development, democratic backsliding, and national security.

A Precious Peril: Implications of Mining Under Taliban 2.0

Abstract

This paper uses comparative case studies to analyze the implications of Taliban mining activity for Afghanistan’s domestic development and security. Drawing on the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, and Indonesia, it argues that institutional quality is the primary determinant of whether natural resource endowments lead to development or entrench underdevelopment, conflict, and authoritarianism. The paper emphasizes institutional transparency, conditional engagement, and community benefit-sharing as prerequisites for any development-oriented extractive strategy.