The Taliban’s quest for legitimacy: Fragmentation, pragmatism, and strategic engagement

The Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in 2021 presents a significant challenge to conventional understandings of political legitimacy in international relations. Despite exercising effective territorial control and engaging in sustained diplomatic interaction with regional and global actors, the regime remains excluded from broad international recognition. This article argues that the Taliban’s position is best understood through a framework of fragmented legitimacy, in which domestic authority, international normative expectations, and regional strategic engagement operate according to distinct and often conflicting logics. Drawing on legitimacy theory, recognition debates, and recent empirical developments, the study demonstrates that the Taliban derives a degree of domestic legitimacy through security provision, justice delivery, and religious authority, while failing to meet international standards related to human rights and inclusive governance. At the same time, regional actors engage the regime pragmatically, prioritising stability, counterterrorism cooperation, and economic interests over formal recognition. The article introduces the concept of legitimacy misalignment to explain how divergent domestic, international, and regional evaluations of the Taliban prevent the consolidation of unified authority. It argues that Afghanistan serves as a critical case demonstrating how legitimacy in a multipolar international system has become increasingly fragmented, with domestic authority, international recognition, and regional engagement operating according to different normative and strategic logics.