NOT finished lecture 4. AFghan Civil War & Taliban 1990s

Question 1

Why were Afghan warlords not able to prevent the Taliban from taking power?

Answer 1

3 levels of causation

Macro-level –> geopolitical context
Cold War + regional environment ( ‘’New Great Game’’)
Meso-level
Fall of Communist regime, state collapse
Micro-level
Power struggles, ethnic politics

Question 2

Why did the fragmentation of Afghanistan lead to ‘‘the rise of Afhanistan’’?

Answer 2

Fragmentation of the Afghan Resistance
* Communist Coup d’état (1978)
- Spontaneous + decentralized resistance

• The Soviet Invasion (1979)
  Foreign aid + fragmentation of the resistance
• Regional environment+ party policies
  -Pakistan + Sunni Parties –> the US gives aid via Pakistan
  -Iran + Shia parties

At the micro-level:
* Political patchwork
* Any would be commander get external support
* A variety of background (spiritual leaders, religious leaders, landowners, Islamists etc._

Question 3

after Soviet withdrawal: Neo-Medieval war

Answer 3

• End of personal obligation of Jihad
• From Holy war to Civil war

Question 4

After Soviet withdrawal: Power struggle

Answer 4

• As in more normal times –> with more weapons, they engaged in struggles for local power.
• it will become more and more about etnicity
• they end up siding with people they are close to, but its not about etnicity
• Dorronsoro (1996): a concentration of power
• The emergence of new actors : Warlords

Question 5

What is a warlord?

Answer 5

• A leader of an armed band, possibly numbering up to several thousand fighters, who can hold territory, locally and at the same time act financially and politically in the international system without interference from the state in which he is based (Duffield)
• A warlord plays critical roles in people’s access to political arena and economic opportunities, and sometimes even acts as the principal supplier of governance to people in the area he controls.
• Warlords thrive in weak and failed states.

Question 6

Massoud (Jamiat)

Answer 6

Became the most effective commander during Soviet-Afghan War between 19791989

basics:
- Died september 9th, 2001
- Ethnicity: Tajik
- Sunni Muslim
- background in Pansjhir Valley, Northern Afghanistan

Political role:
* ‘‘Peace lord’’ / ‘‘LIon of Pansjir’’
* first-leader Pansjir
* 1994 Northern Alliance
* He led the governments military wing against rivals, after Taliban takeover: leading opposition against their regime.

Question 6

Dostum (Jumbesh)

Answer 6

basics:
* Uzbek (only 8% of Afghanistan) - Turkish
* Not islamist; he fought islamists.
* Not Mujahedeen

Political role:
‘’ Kingmaker’’
* Jumbesh
* Fought in favour of Soviet regime, who he later betrayed by lack of payment.

Romain is fan

Question 7

Ismail Khan

Answer 7

Basics:
* Tajik (25% of Afghan)
* language: dari

Political role
* Jamiat
* Commander comparable to Massoud
* When Regime collapsed –> Took control of Herat, West-Afghanistan
* Cooperates with Massoud on certain issues
* Did not fight for Kabul (!) even though he was with the same party: Jamiat as Massoud, Rabbani.. e.g.
* later minister energy + water (irrelevant)

Question 8

Rabbani

Answer 8

Basics:
* islamist
* International very recognized (not really domestic)
* Mujadeen.

Political role:
* leader of Jamiat
* Eventually became president of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (in 1992-1996), and later very shortly in 2001

Question 9

Mazari and Khalili
not traditional warlords

Answer 9

• Iranian; so supported by Iran
• Part of party representing ethnic minority
• not happy with the way Massoud is running things in Kabul
• Shia hazara muslims

Mazari:
- From Northern Balkh province
- after negotiations thrown out of helicopter

Question 10

Hekmetyar

Answer 10

• political party: Hezb-e Islami
• supported by Pakistan
• from the South, he went to a northern part
• Mujadeen: defects howeer towards Taliban circa 1994?
• 94 until 2001: part of Taliban 1, flew towards pakistan

Question 11

letter box sovereignty

Answer 11

when you have this, you get access to the United States, and you can control currency.

Question 11

no concentration of power

Answer 11

Kandahar: actors are much smaller à especially tribes.

Egalitarian à hard to centralize power the way warlords operate. The commanders did not try to dominate others.

Question 13

Taliban (1996-2001)

Answer 13

* Rise of Taliban
* A product of Civil War + State failure
* Power vacuum:
* disintegratoin of Communist structures
* Elimination of Traditional leadership
* failure of Mujahidin to concentrate power in the South –> Tribal structures
(Mujahidin: Islamic, and not better than the Taliban regime.)