Afghans may be more positive now than they were in 2013, but they still expect Taliban presence to increase. Gallup finds that "nearly half of Afghans believe the presence of the Taliban will increase when international forces depart, while half as many expect it to decrease." 2014 was a deadly year for Afghan civilians, and the political unrest surrounding the shift of power from former president Hamid Karzai to Ashraf Ghani added to this danger.