Afghanistan in the Trap of an Ethnic Security Dilemma: Is There Any Solution on the Horizon?
top of page
Asian Institute of Research, Journal Publication, Journal Academics, Education Journal, Asian Institute
Asian Institute of Research, Journal Publication, Journal Academics, Education Journal, Asian Institute

Journal of Social and Political

Sciences

ISSN 2615-3718 (Online)

ISSN 2621-5675 (Print)

asia insitute of research, journal of social and political sciences, jsp, aior, journal publication, humanities journal, social journa
asia insitute of research, journal of social and political sciences, jsp, aior, journal publication, humanities journal, social journa
asia insitute of research, journal of social and political sciences, jsp, aior, journal publication, humanities journal, social journa
asia insitute of research, journal of social and political sciences, jsp, aior, journal publication, humanities journal, social journa
crossref
doi
open access

Published: 06 March 2023

Afghanistan in the Trap of an Ethnic Security Dilemma: Is There Any Solution on the Horizon?

Sayed Reza Hussaini

University of Hertfordshire, England

journal of social and political sciences
pdf download

Download Full-Text Pdf

doi

10.31014/aior.1991.06.01.400

Pages: 127-141

Keywords: Afghanistan, Centralisation, Ethnic Civil War, Ethnic Groups, Ethnic Security Dilemma, Non-Pashtuns, Pashtuns

Abstract

Afghanistan represents one of the most complex mosaics of ethnic groups in the world and its contemporary history has been characterised by ethnic hierarchy. Pashtuns domination of the country and their discriminatory policies toward non-Pashtuns have had long-term effects in destroying inter-ethnic trust. The hierarchical relationships among ethnic groups have always been an obstacle to creating ethnic harmony even in the pre-war Afghanistan. The paper, by adopting ‘ethnic security dilemma theory,’ seeks to analyse how and why ethnicity in Afghanistan was politicised and morphed into fault line that finally surfaced in the form of civil war in 1990s. It will discuss the impacts of internecine war on inter-ethnic relations and explores the possible options to deal with the long-standing ethnic security dilemma. Being caught in an ethnic trap, the paper argues, only a meaningful power-sharing mechanism can glue the future Afghanistan together.

References

  1. Adeney, K., 2008. Constitutional Design and the Political Salience of “Community” Identity in Afghanistan: Prospect for the Emergence of Ethnic Conflict in the Post-Taliban Era. Asian Survey, 48 (4), 535-557.

  2. Afzal, O.M., 2022. Sub-Nationalism and Nationalism: The Dilemma of Power and Ethnicity in Afghanistan. Beijing Law Review, 13, 414-428.

  3. Ahmed, A., 2017. The 5 Wars in Afghanistan: U.S. Policymakers are Oblivious to the Fact that Afghanistan is Home to not one but five Distinct Conflicts. The Diplomat, 27 June. Available from: https://thediplomat.com/2017/06/the-5-wars-in-afghanistan/.

  4. Australian Government. 2022. DFAT Thematic Report on Political and Security Development in Afghanistan (August 2021 to January 2022). Canberra: DFAT, Doc ID: 2067344. Available from https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/country-information-report-afghanistan.pdf.

  5. Baiza, Y., 2014. The Hazaras of Afghanistan and their Shi’a Orientation: An Analytical Historical Survey. Journal of Shi’a Islamic Studies, 7 (2), 151-171.

  6. Barfield, Th., 2010. Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

  7. Barfield, Th., 2011. Afghanistan’s Ethnic Puzzle: Decentralizing Power Before the U.S. Withdrawal. Foreign Affairs, 90 (5), 54-65.

  8. Bilgic, A., 2013. Towards a New Societal Security Dilemma: Comprehensive Analysis of Actor Responsibility in International Conflicts. Review of International Studies, 39 (1), 185-208.

  9. Butterfield, H., 1952. History and Human Relation. New York: McMillan.

  10. Chiovenda, M.K., 2018. Hazara Civil Society Activists and Local, National, and International Political Institution. In: Shahrani, M.N. ed, Modern Afghanistan: The Impact of 40 years of War. Indiana: Indiana University Press, 251-270.

  11. Coll, S., 2018. Directorate S: The C.I.A. and America’s Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan. New York: Penguin Press.

  12. Desautels-Stein, J., 2005. Rites and Rights in Afghanistan: The Hazara and the 2004 Constitution. The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, 29 (1), 157-179.

  13. Dorronsoro, G., 2007. Kabul at War (1992-1996): State, Ethnicity and Social Classes. South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal, 1, available from: https://doi.org/10.4000/samaj.212.

  14. Emami, H., 1999. Afghanistan Wa Zohore Taliban [Afghanistan and the Rise of the Taliban]. Tehran: Shaab.

  15. Fukuyama, F., 2005. State Building: Governance and World Order in the Twenty-First Century. London: Profile Books.

  16. Giustozzi, A., 2005. The Ethnicisation of an Afghan Faction: Junbesh-i-Milli From Its Origins to the Presidential Election. Crisis States Working Papers Series No. 1. Available from: https://www.lse.ac.uk/international-development/Assets/Documents/PDFs/csrc-working-papers-phase-one/wp67-ethnicisation-of-an-afghan-faction.pdf.

  17. Giustozzi, A., 2008. Afghanistan: Transition Without End, An Analytical Narrative on State-Making. Crisis States Working Papers Series No. 2. Available from: https://www.lse.ac.uk/international-development/Assets/Documents/PDFs/csrc-working-papers-phase-two/wp40.2-afghanistan-transition-without-end.pdf.

  18. Glaser, C.L., 2010. Rational Theory of International Politics: The Logic of Competition and Cooperation. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

  19. Ghobar, M.G.M., 1980. Afghanistan Dar Maseer-e Tarikh [Afghanistan in the Course of History]. Qom: Kanoun-e Muhajir.

  20. Hanley, R., 2011. Ethnic Violence, Impact on Afghanistan. Thesis (M.A.) U.S. Army War College.

  21. Hashmi, R.S., and Majeed, G., 2015. Politics of Ethnicity: A Theoretical Perspective. South Asian Studies, 30 (1), 319-331.

  22. Hashte Subh, 2022. Haneef Atmar Ba Eijad Nezaam Federali Dar Afghanistan Mokhalefat Kard [Haneef Atmar opposed the formation of a Federal System in Afghanistan]. Hashte Subh, 31 Oct. Available from: https://8am.media/hanif-atmar-opposed-the-creation-of-a-federal-system-in-afghanistan/.

  23. Herz, J.H., 1950. Idealist Internationalism and the Security Dilemma. World Politics, 2 (2), 157-180.

  24. Horowitz, D.L., 1985. Ethnic Groups in Conflict. California: University of California Press.

  25. Hunter, E. 1959. The Past Present: A Year in Afghanistan. London: Hodder and Stoughton.

  26. Hussaini, S.R., 2022. Constitutional Design as the Primary Cause of a Political Tragedy: A Case Study of Afghanistan’s 2004 Constitution. Wolverhampton Law Journal, 7, 1-24.

  27. Hyman, A., 2002. Nationalism in Afghanistan. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 34 (2), 299-315.

  28. Ibrahimi, S.Y., 2019. Afghanistan’s Political Development Dilemma: The Centralist State Versus a Centrifugal Society. Journal of South Asian Development 14 (1), 40-61.

  29. International Crisis Group, 2003. Afghanistan’s Flawed Constitutional Process. Kabul/Brussels: ICG, Asia Report No. 56.

  30. Kakar, K., Kraemer, Th., and Raoofi, H., 2017. Evolution of the Executive Branch in Afghanistan: A Look Back and Recommendations on the Way Forward. Available from: https://areu.org.af/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/AREU__Executive-Review-in-Afghanistan__English_15.pdf.

  31. Kaufman, S.J., 1994. The Irresistible Force and the Imperceptible Object: The Yugoslav Breakup and Western Policy. Security Studies, 4 (2), 281-329.

  32. Kaufman, S.J., 1996a. An ‘International’ Theory of Inter-Ethnic War. Review of International Studies, 22 (2), 149-171.

  33. Kaufman, S.J., 1996b. Spiraling to Ethnic War: Elites, Masses, and Moscow in Moldova’s Civil War. International Security, 21 (2), 108-138.

  34. Kaufmann, C., 1996. Intervention in Ethnic and Ideological Civil War: Why One Can Be Done and the Other Can’t. Security Studies, 6 (1), 62-100.

  35. Khalilzad, Z., 2016. The Envoy: From Kabul to The White House, My Journey Through a Turbulent World. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

  36. Lane, J., 2011. Constitutions and Political Theory. 2nd ed. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

  37. Lieven, A., 2021. An Afghan Tragedy: The Pashtuns, The Taliban and the State. Survival 63 (3), 7-36.

  38. Lijphart, A., 1977. Democracy in Plural Societies. New Haven: Yale University Press.

  39. Maley, W., 2013. State building in Afghanistan: Challenges and Pathologies. Central Asian Survey, 32 (3), 255-270.

  40. Mearsheimer, J.J., 2001. The Tragedy of Great Power Politics. New York: Norton.

  41. Melander, E., 2009. The Geography of Fear: Regional Ethnic Diversity, the Security Dilemma and Ethnic War. European Journal of International Relations, 15 (1), 95-124.

  42. Mousavi, S.A., 1998. The Hazaras of Afghanistan: An Historical, Cultural, Economic and Political Study. Richmond: Curzon Press.

  43. Murtazashvili, J.B., 2014. Informal Federalism: Self-Governance and Power Sharing in Afghanistan. Publius, 44 (2), 324-343.

  44. Murtazashvili, J.B., 2022. The Collapse of Afghanistan. Journal of Democracy, 33 (1), 40-54.

  45. Posen, B.R., 1993. The Security Dilemma and Ethnic Conflict. Survival, 35 (1), 27-47.

  46. Qassem, A.Sh., 2018. Border, Access to Strategic Resources, and Challenges to State Stability. In: Shahrani, M.N. ed, Modern Afghanistan: The Impact of 40 years of War. Indiana: Indiana University Press, 133-148.

  47. Rahimi, M., 2020. Naqdi Bar Sakhtare Nezaam Dar Afghanistan [A Critique of the Structure of the Political System in Afghanistan]. Kabul: Aazem.

  48. Reynolds, A., 2007. Constitution Design: Promoting Multi-Ethnic Democracy. Harvard International Review, 51-55.

  49. Roe, P., 1999. The Interstate Security Dilemma: Ethnic Conflict as ‘tragedy’?. Journal of Peace Research, 36 (2), 183-202.

  50. Roe, P., 2002. Misperception and Ethnic Conflict: Transylvania’s Societal Security Dilemma. Review of International Studies, 28, 57-74.

  51. Roe, P., 2004. Which Security Dilemma? Mitigating Ethnic Conflict: The Case of Croatia. Security Studies, 13 (4), 280-313.

  52. Roe, P., 2005. Societal Security Dilemma. London: Routledge

  53. Rubin, B.R., 2002. The Fragmentation of Afghanistan. 2nd ed. New Haven: Yale University Press.

  54. Rubin, B.R., 2004. Crafting a Constitution for Afghanistan. 15 Journal of Democracy, 15 (3), 5-19.

  55. Sadr, S., 2021. The Republic and Its Enemies: The Status of the Republic in Afghanistan. Kabul: AISS.

  56. Sahar, A., and Sahar, A., 2021. Ethnic Politics and Political Violence in Post-2001 Afghanistan: The 2014 Presidential Election. Terrorism and Political Violence, 33 (8), 1692-1712.

  57. Saikal, A., 1998. Afghanistan’s Ethnic Conflict. Survival, 40 (2), 114-126.

  58. Saikal, A., 2004. Modern Afghanistan: A History of Struggle and Survival. London: I.B. Tauris.

  59. Santos, C., 2003. Myth of ‘One Afghanistan’. Los Angeles Times, 25 May. Available from: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-may-25-op-santos25-story.html.

  60. Schermerhorn, R., 1970. Comparative Ethnic Relations. New York: Random House.

  61. Schetter, C., 2005a. Ethnoscapes, National Territorialisation, and the Afghan War. Geopolitics, 10 (1), 50-75.

  62. Schetter, C., 2005b. Ethnicity and the political reconstruction of Afghanistan. ZEF Working Paper Series, No. 3. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/88366.

  63. Shahrani, M.N., 2002. War, Factionalism, and the State in Afghanistan. American Anthropologist, 104 (3), 715-722.

  64. Shahrani, M.N., 2013. Centre-Periphery Relations in Afghanistan. In: Conrad, S. ed. Local Politics in Afghanistan: A Century of Intervention in the Social Order. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 23-38.

  65. Shahrani, M.N., 2015. The Impact of the 2014 U.S.-NATO Withdrawal on the Internal Politics of Afghanistan. Asian Survey, 55 (2), 273-298.

  66. Shahrani, M.N., 2018a. Introduction: The Impact of Four Decades of War and Violence on Afghan Society and Political Culture. In: Shahrani, M.N. ed, Modern Afghanistan: The Impact of 40 years of War. Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1-17.

  67. Shahrani, M.N., 2018b. Badakhshanis Since the Saur Revolution: Struggle, Triumph, Hope, and Uncertainty. In: Shahrani, M.N. ed, Modern Afghanistan: The Impact of 40 years of War. Indiana: Indiana University Press, 229-250.

  68. Sharan, T., and Heathershaw, J., 2011. Identity Politics and Statebuilding in Post-Bonn Afghanistan: The 2009 Presidential Election. Ethnopolitics 10 (3-4), 297-319.

  69. Sharifi, M.O., 2018. Language, Poetry, and Identity in Afghanistan: Poetic Texts, Changing Context. In: Shahrani, M.N. ed, Modern Afghanistan: The Impact of 40 years of War. Indiana: Indiana University Press, 56-76.

  70. Sven Gunnar Simonsen, S.G., 2004. Ethnicising Afghanistan? Inclusion and Exclusion in Post-Bonn Institution Building. Third World Quarterly, 25 (4), 707-729.

  71. Snyder, G.H., 1984. The Security Dilemma in Alliance Politics. World Politics, 36 (4), 461-495.

  72. Tang, Sh., 2011. The Security Dilemma and Ethnic Conflict: Toward a Dynamic and Integrative Theory of Ethnic Conflict. Review of International Studies, 37, 511-536.

  73. Tang, Sh., 2015. The Onset of Ethnic War: A General Theory. Sociological Theory, 33 (3), 256-279.

  74. Tarzi, S.M., 1993. Afghanistan in 1992: A Hobbesian State of Nature. Asian Survey, 33 (2), 165-174.

  75. Visser, E., and Duyvesteyn I., 2014. The Irrelevance of the Security Dilemma for Civil Wars. Civil Wars, 16 (1), 65-85.

  76. Wafaei, M., 2022. Sarwar Danish Ba Tarh Federali Kardan Nezaam Dar Afghanistan, Ba Sahna Bazgasht [Sarwar Danish Came Back to the Stage by Federal Plan for Afghanistan]. Independent Persian, 25 Oct. Available from: https://www.independentpersian.com/node/278456.

  77. Wang, C., 2014. Rule of Law in Afghanistan: Enabling a Constitutional Framework for Local Accountability. Harvard International Law Journal, 55 (1), 211-249.

  78. Wheeler, N., and Booth, K., 1992. The Security Dilemma. In Baylis, J., and Renger, N.J. eds, Dilemmas of World Politics: International Issues in a Changing World. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 29-60.

  79. Zakhilwal, O., 2001. Federalism in Afghanistan: A Recipe for Disintegration. Federations, October, P. 6. Available from: http://www.forumfed.org/libdocs/Federations/V1afgh-af-Zakhilwal.pdf.

bottom of page