Franz J. Marty

Franz J. Marty has been living and working in Afghanistan since December 2014. He reports on a broad range of topics but focuses on security and military issues in general and violent extremism/terrorism in particular. His past work includes interviews with active insurgents in areas out of government control, an embed with the elite Afghan Commandos during a night operation in a Taliban-held village, as well as unembedded investigative reporting from hostile areas in various parts of Afghanistan.

In addition to The Diplomat, his articles have been published by, among others, Foreign Policy, The Afghanistan Analysts Network, Popular Front, TRAC (Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium), IHS Jane’s, and the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. He has also contributed to live programs on TV channels such as CNN and France 24 as well as radio stations like BBC World Service and RFI.

Before his work as a journalist in Afghanistan, Franz J. Marty intensively traveled in Central Asia, Iran, the Middle East, and Russia. He is fluent in German, English, French, and Persian (Tajiki/Dari/Farsi) and also speaks some Russian.