The Fragmentation of Afghanistan: State Formation and Collapse in the International System [Paperback]

Professor Barnett R. Rubin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 10, 1995

Afghanistan has long been a country in turmoil. For decades, imperial powers, Islamic fundamentalists, tribal warriors and communists have struggled for control of a nation that is geographically and ethnically fragmented. Their conflict reached its peak in the 14-year-long war that erupted in 1978, a war that resulted in the disintegration of Afghanistan as a state. This study is a complete analysis of the Afghan civil war, from the 1978 communist coup to the fall of Najibullah, the last Soviet-installed president, in 1992. Drawing on interviews and private and government documents, Barnett Rubin shows how both the communist regime and the Mujahidin (Islamic resistance) recruited leaders and mobilised resources for the conflict, and how international changes - from the election of Ronald Reagan to the collapse of the Soviet Union - affected the Afghan state. Rubin argues that the origins, conduct and resolution of the war were a function of Afghanistan's connections to the international community, for Afghanistan was incorporated into a state system not of its own making, and foreign financial and military assistance transformed both tribalism and fundamentalism to the point that they are as much creations of international conflict as the resurgence of local traditions. Using theories of state formation and breakdown and of revolution, Rubin provides a comparative framework that makes it possible to integrate this investigation with other studies of Cold War regional conflict and post-Cold War state breakdown.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The tortured history of Afghanistan is illuminatingly outlined by Barnett S. Rubin, an American academic and human rights monitor in the region. In the 19th century, the country successfully resisted colonial rule, becoming a buffer between the imperial superpowers, Britain and Russia. That dangerous position resulted in an isolation that held back modernization and the emergence of a modern central government. In this century, the Soviet Union and the United States maintained the status quo up until the early seventies, when a communist coup heralded massive outside intervention. The country was ripe for a disastrous fragmentation. This scholarly study is complemented by a sequel: The Search for Peace in Afghanistan.

Review

Mr. Rubin is excellent in sketching the peculiarities of Afghan history. -- The New York Times Book Review, Karl E. Meyer

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (September 10, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300059639
• ISBN-13: 978-0300059632
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,578,049 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars very detailed and well researched, but a tough read, February 29, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Fragmentation of Afghanistan: State Formation and Collapse in the International System, Second Edition (Paperback)

Barry Rubin's account of the fragmentation of Afghanistan and the failure of the state is a very detailed in-depth account of the different parties involved, and the cobweb of international and national actors. I especially appreciated the new post September 11 preface to the second edition. It is a great book for the academic or those looking for a serious book on Afghanistan, however I would not recommend it for someone with little knowledge of the region and its and religous political struggles. Without an understanding of the region, the reader is not likely to get past the first chapter.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid academic political analysis, July 5, 2001

By 

Marie St. George and Anthony Garcia (Oceanside, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fragmentation of Afghanistan: State Formation and Collapse in the International System (Paperback)

Afghanistan, in the perceptions of many, is a small, seemingly inconsequential country. It has experienced encroachment from the Soviets, Pakistanis, Persians, Mughals, Mongols, Ottoman Turks and has been on the receiving end of a mixed positive and negative American presence. The people of Afghanistan have endured governmental incompetence, nepotism, torture, murder, political Islam, political negligence, state formation and collapse, ethnic and tribal strife and civil war. Afghanistan has been affected by all major international economic and political crises and as Rubin suggests is "The Mirror of the World" as the first chapter is titled.

Barnett Rubin clearly knows his subject and gives the reader a masterful analysis of the social and political realities of Afghanistan and how those played out in the (many times lack of) governance of the country. The analysis includes the interrelationships and rivalries of tribes, the communist party, political elites, and fundamentalist Islamic clerics and their supporters. Rubin also discusses the origins as well as the failures of the state system to administer to even a small portion of the citizens. The state, unable to withstand the factional vying for power of those groups as well as those more on the margin of Afghan politics, collapsed.

There was little if any legitimacy to the state in much of recent Afghan history. In fact, most of the funding for social programs, infrastructure, as well as government employee paychecks were from international aid. There was exceedingly little investment in industry, which prevented the Afghans from repayment of loans. The feudal relations of tribes and khans many times held strong even through short sighted goverment incursions and policies enacted to assert its own hegemony. The reasons for the collapse of the Afghan government become quite clear when one reads such a compelling account of political failure.

Soviet control and manipulations are treated comprehensively and are well documented.

Rubin presents a thorough, nuanced, very well researched piece of sholarship and deserves much credit for teaching us the intricacies of state and political policy formation.

The one negative element I see is that it can be dry. However, that is usually a quality assigned by non-academics to academic writing. Although this is not light reading it should be clear that the book is highly informative.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid academic political analysis, July 4, 2001

By 

Marie St. George and Anthony Garcia (Oceanside, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fragmentation of Afghanistan: State Formation and Collapse in the International System (Paperback)

Afghanistan, in the perceptions of many, is a small, seemingly inconsequential country. It has experienced encroachment from the Soviets, Pakistanis, Persians, Mughals, Mongols, Ottoman Turks and has been on the receiving end of a mixed positive and negative American presence. The people of Afghanistan have endured governmental incompetence, nepotism, torture, murder, political Islam, political negligence, state formation and collapse, ethnic and tribal strife and civil war. Afghanistan has been affected by all major international economic and political crises and as Rubin suggests is "The Mirror of the World" as the first chapter is titled.

Barnett Rubin clearly knows his subject and gives the reader a masterful analysis of the social and political realities of Afghanistan and how those played out in the (many times lack of) governance of the country. The analysis includes the interrelationships and rivalries of tribes, the communist party, political elites, and fundamentalist Islamic clerics and their supporters. Rubin also discusses the origins as well as the failures of the state system to administer to even a small portion of the citizens. The state, unable to withstand the factional vying for power of those groups as well as those more on the margin of Afghan politics, collapsed.

There was little if any legitimacy to the state in much of recent Afghan history. In fact, most officials were appointed by someone who simply forced his way into power. Another major problem for the political elites (and ultimately the citizens) was that most of the funding for social programs, infrastructure, as well as government employee paychecks were from international aid. There was exceedingly little investment of that aid in industry, which prevented the Afghans from repayment of loans and achieving economic and political independence.

The feudal relations of tribes and khans many times held strong even through short sighted goverment incursions and policies enacted to assert its own hegemony. The reasons for the collapse of the Afghan government become quite clear when one reads such a compelling account of political and economic failure.

Soviet control and manipulations are treated comprehensively and are well documented.

Rubin presents a thorough, nuanced, very well researched piece of sholarship and deserves much credit for teaching us the intricacies of state and political policy formation.

The one negative element I see is that it can be dry. However, that is usually a quality assigned by non-academics to academic writing. Although this is not light reading it should be clear that the book is highly informative.