State Building in Afghanistan: Linkages with International Politics

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Afghanistan has deep cultural, historical and strategic linkages with India. Political and strategic environment in the region have determined the character of its state building. Political developments in Afghanistan have great bearings on India's security and yet it has not acquired as much attention as it deserves. The recent inclusion of Afghanistan as the eighth member country of SAARC (South Asian Association of regional Cooperation) underlines its geopolitical importance and the changed strategic-political context that has made this possible. Despite being in India's neighborhood the country and its people have remained an enigma for most of the people of the world. There is a dearth of scholarship on politics of modern Afghanistan in our country despite the fact of ancient historical and cultural ties so much so that the early histories of the two countries were enmeshed with each other. There has been a tendency to view Afghanistan from the viewpoint of international power politics and its strategic implications. Internal political dynamics of Afghanistan has not acquired much focus in academic circles. The present study intends to fill the gap and focuses on internal political developments of the country and explores the process of its state building in its linkages with international politics. It hopes to bring out the lesser known facets of modern Afghanistan before the academia, general public and policy planners. The book further highlights the vital importance of the project of state building as crucial to regional security and peace in Afghanistan. It views the state in Afghanistan as a creation of strategic and power games as were played by the great powers in the region. The present phase of rebuilding of its state is very much linked to the changed internal and regional strategic environment following September 11, 2001 and that also sets in the limits of its political and economic reconstruction. It has analysed in depth the challenges before the task of state building in Afghanistan and expresses cautious optimism about its prospects.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Uma Shankar

Dr. Uma Shankar is a faculty in the department of Political science, Zakir Husian College, University of Delhi. He has been teaching International relations and Comparative Politics in this college for over thirteen years. He graduated from Patna University and after obtaining his Masters degree in Politics from School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, he completed his M.Phil and Ph.D. from Department of Political Science, University of Delhi. Dr. Uma Shankar has been involved in Post-Graduate teaching programmes and research. The present book is the end product of almost twenty years of research though it has been marked with breaks in between. His research interests in Afghanistan were revived after the shocking of September 11, 2001, which once again brought Afghanistan on the center stage of the international politics. He has contributed research papers and participated in conferences and seminars on Afghanistan. He has published many research papers and articles ion International relations and foreign policy in reputed journals and periodicals. Strategic studies and intra-state conflicts are his areas of special interest. Dr. Uma Shankar is a severe critic of humanitarian interventions and installation if democracy in the Third World countries at the behest of foreign powers. However, he is in favour of a very limited role of the international community in providing internal security and state building in countries torn by civil wars and disintegrated states like Afghanistan. He argues that the strategy of International assistance should be in a manner that helps in rebuilding their state and serve the cause of larger peace, security and development.