Recovering the Frontier State War, Ethnicity, and the State in Afghanistan

by Rais, Rasul Bakhsh

• ISBN13: 9780739109564
• ISBN10: 0739109561
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-03-20
• Publisher: Lexington Books

Summary

Incessant war and insurgency has led to mobilization along ethnic and religious lines in Afghanistan, having a profound effect on the kinds of institutions that have perpetuated over time. Recovering the Frontier State analyzes preemptive and reactive intervention by neighboring states and their links to ethnic groups inside Afghanistan and explores the geopolitical history of social groups of Afghanistan, with an intensive account of the rise of power contenders as a function of their history, their links with external actors, and their traditional position in the indigenous vertical hierarchy. While Rasul Bakhsh Rais deems the legacy of the previous intervention for containment as a major contributing factor to the disorder in Afghanistan's state and society, he draws on lessons from the past intervention to assuage current obstacles and stalemates that are hindering political, social, and economic development in Afghanistan. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Rasul Bakhsh Rais is professor of political science in the Department of Social Sciences, Lahore University of Management Sciences.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Ethnicity, Political Power, and Fragmentation	p. 27
Rise of the Taliban and Civil War	p. 57
The United States and the War on Terrorism	p. 87
Restructuring a New Afghan State	p. 121
Political Economy of Drugs and Warlordism	p. 153
Afghanistan and the Neighboring States	p. 177
Conclusion	p. 205
Bibliography	p. 217
Index	p. 229
About the Author	p. 237
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