Understanding Afghanistan

This book delves into the history of Afghanistan, its people, and its relationship with neighbors, to unravel the intricate politics and ethnolinguistic diversity of the country.

It discusses the history of innumerable invasions which left imprints over the country and its people and created a complex fabric of different ethnic, linguistic, religious and cultural groups. The volume looks at the various empires which warred over the land including the Persian, Greek, Mongol, and Sassanid dynasties, as well as the later interferences by the British and the Russians and the emergence of the Taliban. It examines the correlations between war, power politics, religion, local governance, and the opium trade and economy in Afghanistan. The author through personal stories and anecdotes of his visits and journeys in Afghanistan provides a very rich and extensive view of Afghan politics, culture and history. The relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan and Afghanistan’s unique position in the politics of the region is also a thread which runs through the entire book.

This book will a great resource (and of interest) to researchers and students of politics, history, Central and South Asian Studies, war and international relations, political economy, and peace and reconciliation studies. It will also interest journalists, diplomats and international development organizations.

Author Biography

Abdul Qayyum Khan earned his PhD in Agricultural Economics from the Colorado State University and received his Master’s in Economics from Quaid-i-Azam University in Pakistan. He has worked as a Project Director at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and New Mexico State University. He has also worked with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.