Afghanistan: A Modern History

0.0

Since September 11th 2001 Afghanistan has dominated the news, as it did for a decade during the Soviet occupation (1979-89), and long before, when, in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, its mountain ranges formed the backdrop to the Great Game. Angelo Rasanayagam has revised and updated his magisterial work, which is the first major history of modern Afghanistan. It traces the country’s development from the succession of Abdul Rahman Khan, the ‘Iron Amir’ in 1880, through to the demise of the Taliban under US bombing over the winter of 2001 and the interim regime that was subsequently established in Kabul by Hamid Karzai. Afghanistan: A Modern History is of vital importance for understanding the country’s current crisis and the challenges it faces. Angelo Rasanayagam’s book is essential reading for historians, policy-makers, journalists, students and all those interested in the state of the world history.

0.0

Angelo Rasanayagam was Chief of Mission for the UN in Iran and a number of other countries, before becoming Director of the UNHCR office in Peshawar, Pakistan. He now lives in Geneva. Table of Contents Foreword by Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan Preface and Acknowledgements Maps Introduction: Origins Part I: THE BUILDING OF THE STATE The ‘Iron Amir’: Abdur Rahman Khan (1880-1901) The Afghan Monarchy Daoud’s Modernization Programme and the Pashtunistan Issue (1953-63) The Democratic Experiment (1963-73) The Abolition of the Monarchy and the Daoud Presidency (1973-83) Part II: THE DESCENT INTO CIVIL WAR AND ANARCHY The ‘Saur Revolution’ (1978-79) Prelude to the Soviet Invasion The Sovietization of Afghanistan (1979-89) Pakistan, the United States and the Afghan Resistance The Geneva Accords and the Soviet Withdrawal Part III: THE DISINTEGRATION OF THE STATE The Fragmentation of Afghanistan Afghan Buzkashi: The Players and the Stakes (1989-98) Regional and International Reactions and Repercussions Pakistan and the Taliban The Withered State (1996-2001) Part IV: THE RUDE AWAKENING Holy War, Unholy Terror Winning a War, Building the Peace Epilogue.