Lahore University of Management Sciences

POL 227 – The Politics of Conflict and Intervention in Afghanistan

Spring 2016-2017
Instructor Shahab Ud Din Ahmad
Room No. 112 HSS wing, ground floor
Office Hours TBA
E-mail shahab.ahmad@lums.edu.pk
Telephone
Teaching Assistant TBA
TA Office Hours TBA

Course Basics
Credit Hours 4
Lectures 2 Per Week Duration: 1 Hour 50 Minutes
Tutorial None
Lab/Recitation None

Course Requirements and

Grading
Attendance 5%
Class Participation 5%
Map Quizzes (x2) 10%
Response Papers (x4/n-1) 15%
Mid-Term Exam 20%
Final Exam 45%
Course Description
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the politics of conflict and international
intervention in Afghanistan. It aims to shed light on the origins and policies of various
protagonists and stakeholders (past and present, local and international) that have contributed to
the volatile political landscape of the country. The course has 6 sections that aim to capture the
evolving political landscape of the country. We examine various themes within the context of
contentious politics in Afghanistan including revolution, resistance, ethnic mobilization,
warlordism, insurgency, international intervention, alliance formation and side-switching, and
state-building efforts. There has been a deliberate attempt to provide students with a mix of
classical and contemporary texts-with an emphasis on the latter.

Course Objectives

∑ Introduce students to the various protagonists that have been involved in the conflict in
Afghanistan
∑ Provide students with a background to the conflict so that they may better understand
contemporary events in Afghanistan
∑ Expose students to various identity related issues of contention that have shaped the
current conflict in Afghanistan (ethnic, religious, ideological, tribal); how these have
acted as sources of mobilization in terms of facilitating collective action and have also
come to overlap and contradict one another as the conflict has evolved
∑ Assess students on their ability to grasp the complex dynamics of conflict in Afghanistan

Assessment and Grading Details

1. Mid Term: In class and closed book/notes
2. Final Exam: Take Home Exam
3. Response Papers: In class and unannounced. Students will be required to write a one page
summary of the reading(s) for the corresponding session.
4. Class Participation and Attendance: CP will be judged according to the quality of your
contribution. Students are allowed 3 unexcused absences with a deduction of one percentage
point per session missed after that.
5. All readings are compulsory (sources with an * next to them are optional but recommended)
and students are expected to complete the assigned readings before they come to class
 Course Outline
Part I: An introduction to Afghanistan
Session 1: Introduction to the course; course outline, readings, rules and regulations,
assignments, plagiarism.
Session 2: Afghanistan: The Land and the People I
∑ Dupree, Louis. "The People." Afghanistan. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1973. 57-66,
248-253. Print.
∑ Rais, Rasul Baksh. "Ethnicity, Political Power and Fragmentation." Recovering the
Frontier State: War, Ethnicity, and State in Afghanistan. Lanham, MD: Lexington, 2008.
27-41. Print.
Session 3: Afghanistan: The Land and the People II
∑ Rais, Rasul Baksh. "Ethnicity, Political Power and Fragmentation." Recovering the
Frontier State: War, Ethnicity, and State in Afghanistan. Lanham, MD: Lexington,
2008. 41-51. Print.
∑ Dorronsoro, Gilles. "The Sociogenesis of the Afghan State." Revolution Unending:
Afghanistan, 1979 to the Present. New York: Columbia UP in Association with the
Centre D'études Et De Recherches Internationales, Paris, 2005. 23-40. Print.
Part II: Origins of the contemporary Afghan Conflict: Political Change, Mobilization and
Polarization (1963-79)
Session 4: The Last Afghan King: Zahir Shah and Constitutionalism
∑ Dorronsoro, Gilles. "From Mobilization to Revolution." Revolution Unending:
Afghanistan, 1979 to the Present. New York: Columbia UP in Association with the
Centre D'études Et De Recherches Internationales, Paris, 2005. 61-80. Print.
Session 5: Daud Khan and the Modernization of the Afghan State
∑ Bradsher, Henry S. "Problems of Modernization." Afghan Communism and Soviet
Intervention. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1999. 1-23. Print.
∑ Dorronsoro, Gilles. "From Mobilization to Revolution." Revolution Unending:
Afghanistan, 1979 to the Present. New York: Columbia UP in Association with the
Centre D'études Et De Recherches Internationales, Paris, 2005. 81-92. Print.
Session 6:The Saur Revolution and Consolidation of Political Opposition I
∑ Edwards, David B. "The Armature of Khalqi Power." Before Taliban: Genealogies of the
Afghan Jihad. Berkeley: Uni. of California, 2002. 57-86. Print.
Session 7: The Saur Revolution and Consolidation of Political Opposition II
∑ Dorronsoro, Gilles. "Mobilizations: The Commanders." Revolution Unending:
Afghanistan, 1979 to the Present. New York: Columbia UP in Association with the
Centre D'études Et De Recherches Internationales, Paris, 2005. 93-136. Print.
∑ Dupree, Louis. "Afghanistan Under the Khalq." UNZ.org. Problems of Communism,
1978. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. <http://www.unz.org/Pub/ProblemsCommunism-1979jul-
00034>.
Part III: International Intervention in Afghanistan I : The Soviet Union in Afghanistan
(1979-1989)
Session 8: The Soviet Union in Afghanistan I
∑ Bradsher, Henry S. "Moscow's Decision." Afghan Communism and Soviet Intervention.
Oxford: Oxford UP, 1999. 75-108. Print.
Session 9: The Soviet Union in Afghanistan II
∑ Rubin, Barnett R. "Under Soviet Occupation: Party, State, and Society, 1980-1985." The
Fragmentation of Afghanistan: State Formation and Collapse in the International System.
New Haven, Yale, 2002. 122-45. Print.
Session 10: The Resistance I

∑ Rubin, Barnett R. "International Aid, War, and National Organization." The

Fragmentation of Afghanistan: State Formation and Collapse in the International System.
New Haven, Yale, 2002. 196-225. Print.
∑ *Documentary: CNN, “The Soldiers of God” in Cold War, Season 1, Episode 20.
Session 11: The Resistance II
∑ Dorronsoro, Gilles. "The Jihadi Parties." Revolution Unending: Afghanistan, 1979 to the
Present. New York: Columbia UP in Association with the Centre D'études Et De
Recherches Internationales, Paris, 2005. 137-62. Print.
∑ * Ibrahimi, Niamatullah. "The Failure of a Clerical Proto-State: Hazarajat, 1979-1984."
Crisis States Working Paper Series 2 (2006): 1-25. LSE Crisis States Research Centre.
Web.
Session 12: The Dynamics of Confrontation and Withdrawal
∑ Dorronsoro, Gilles. "The Dynamics of Confrontation." Revolution Unending:
Afghanistan, 1979 to the Present. New York: Columbia UP in Association with the
Centre D'études Et De Recherches Internationales, Paris, 2005. 173-99. Print.
 Part IV: Civil War in Afghanistan (1990-2001)
Session 13: The Mujahedeen (1990-1994)-Conflict, Collusion and Side-Switching
∑ Christia, Fotini. "The Afghan Intra-Mujahedin War, 1992–98." Alliance Formation in
Civil Wars. Cambridge UP, 2012. 57-81. Print.
∑ * Rubin, Barnett R. "Mujahideen after Soviet Withdrawal." The Fragmentation of
Afghanistan: State Formation and Collapse in the International System. New Haven, CT:
Yale UP, 2002. 247-64. Print.
Session 14: Warlordism in Afghanistan I (Abdul Rashid Dostum-Junbesh)
∑ Giustozzi, Antonio. Empires of Mud: War and Warlords in Afghanistan. New York:
Columbia UP, 2009. Print.
1. Junbesh, Origins and General Characteristics (p.103-111)
2. The Role of Leadership within Junbesh (p.113-119)
3. Junbesh’s Political Dynamics (p.121-126)
4. Junbesh’s Political Economy (p.133-143)
Session 15: No class. Mid Term Examination (In-class)
Session 16: Warlordism in Afghanistan II (Ismail Khan’s Emirate)
∑ Giustozzi, Antonio. "Models of Warlordism." Empires of Mud: War and Warlords in
Afghanistan. New York: Columbia UP, 2009. 207-39. Print.
Session 17: The Taliban: Socio-economic Roots of the Afghan Taliban
∑ Rashid, Ahmed. "Kandahar 1994: The Origins of the Taliban." Taliban: Militant Islam,
Oil, and Fundamentalism in Central Asia. New Haven: Yale UP, 2000. 17-40. Print.
Session 18: Arabs in Afghanistan: Between Resistance and Rethink
∑ Rānā, Muḥammad ʻĀmir., and Mubasher Bukhari. Arabs in Afghan Jihad. Lahore: Pak
Institute for Peace Studies, 2007. (Selected Pages) Print.
∑ Linschoten, Alex Strick Van, and Felix Kuehn. "Rethink (1990-1994)." An Enemy We
Created: The Myth of the Taliban-al Qaeda Merger in Afghanistan. Oxford: Oxford UP,
2012. 81-110. Print.
Part V: The Taliban Government in Afghanistan (1996-2001)
Session 19: Insurgency, State-capture and the Northern Alliance
∑ Rashid, Ahmed. "Kabul 1996: Commander of the Faithful." Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil,
and Fundamentalism in Central Asia. New Haven: Yale UP, 2000. 41-54. Print.
∑ Christia, Fotini. Alliance Formation in Civil Wars. Cambridge UP, 2012. (Selected
Pages). Print.
Session 20: Governance and Security under Taliban Rule
∑ Dorronsoro, Gilles. "The Clerical State." Revolution Unending: Afghanistan, 1979 to the
Present. New York: Columbia UP in Association with the Centre D'études Et De
Recherches Internationales, Paris, 2005. 272-310. Print.
∑ * Rashid, Ahmed. "A Vanished Gender: Women, Children and Taliban Culture." Taliban:
Militant Islam, Oil, and Fundamentalism in Central Asia. New Haven: Yale UP, 2000.
105-17. Print.
Session 21: International Relations of the Taliban Regime-Diplomacy and Isolation
∑ Linschoten, Alex Strick Van, and Felix Kuehn. "Closer and Farther (1994-1998) & A
Bone in the Throat (1998-2001)." An Enemy We Created: The Myth of the Taliban-al
Qaeda Merger in Afghanistan. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2012. 146-174. Print.
Part VI: International Intervention in Afghanistan II: NATO in Afghanistan
Session 22: The NATO Intervention and the Taliban Retreat I
∑ Linschoten, Alex Strick Van, and Felix Kuehn. “Collapse (2001-2003).” An Enemy We
Created: The Myth of the Taliban-al Qaeda Merger in Afghanistan. Oxford: Oxford UP,
2012. 221-246. Print.
Session 23: The NATO Intervention and the Taliban Retreat II

∑ Dorronsoro, Gilles. "A Splendid Little War?" Revolution Unending: Afghanistan, 1979
to the Present. New York: Columbia UP in Association with the Centre D'études Et De
Recherches Internationales, Paris, 2005. 315-329. Print.
∑ Jones, Seth G. "Operation Enduring Freedom." In the Graveyard of Empires. New
York/London: W.W. Norton, 2009. 135-54. Print.
Session 24: The “light footprint” of a State I: U.S. Policy in Afghanistan
∑ Jones, Seth G. “Light Footprint.” & “Initial Successes” In the Graveyard of Empires.
New York/London: W.W. Norton, 2009. (Selected Pages) Print.
Session 25: The “light footprint” of a State II: Shortcomings of the Intervention
∑ Jones, Seth G. “Collapse of Law and Order” In the Graveyard of Empires. New
York/London: W.W. Norton, 2009. (203-220) Print.
∑ Eikenberry, Karl W. “The Limits of Counterinsurgency Doctrine in Afghanistan: The
Other Side of the COIN.” Foreign Affairs. September/October 2013. <
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/afghanistan/2013-08-12/limits-
counterinsurgency-doctrine-afghanistan>
Session 26: Institution and Capacity Building Efforts in Afghanistan
∑ Rubin, Barnett R. "Peace Building and State-building in Afghanistan: Constructing
Sovereignty for Whose Security?" Third World Quarterly 27.1 (2006): 175-85. Web.
∑ Ginty, Roger Mac. "Warlords and the Liberal Peace: State-building in Afghanistan."
Conflict, Security & Development 10.4 (2010): 577-98. Web.
∑ Townsend, Dorn “Afghanistan's Aid Bubble. Letter From Kabul.” Foreign Affairs. June
2014. < https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/afghanistan/2014-06-26/afghanistans-
aid-bubble>
∑ *"How to Rebuild a Broken State." Ashraf Ghani:TED Global, 2005. Web.
<https://www.ted.com/talks/ashraf_ghani_on_rebuilding_broken_states?language=en>
Session 27: The “neo-Taliban” Insurgency (2003-2010)
∑ Giustozzi, Antonio. "Sources of the Insurgency." Koran, Kalashnikov, and Laptop: The
Neo-Taliban Insurgency in Afghanistan. New York: Columbia UP, 2008. 11-33. Print.
∑ Abbas, Hassan. "The Political Economy of Taliban Resurgence in Afghanistan (2006-
2013)." The Taliban Revival: Violence and Extremism on the Pakistan-Afghanistan
Frontier. New Haven and London2014: Yale UP, 2014. 169-92. Print.
∑ *Abbas, Hassan. "Empowering the Taliban Revival: Impact of Local Politics, Regional
Rivalries and Drone Strikes." The Taliban Revival: Violence and Extremism on the
Pakistan-Afghanistan Frontier. New Haven and London 2014: Yale UP, 2014. 193-218.
Print.
Session 28: Negotiating with the Taliban
∑ Dobbins, James & Malkasian, Carter “Time to Negotiate in Afghanistan: How to Talk to
the Taliban.” Foreign Affairs. July/August 2015.
<https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/afghanistan/2015-06-16/time-negotiate-
afghanistan>
∑ Masadykov, Talatbek, Giustozzi, Antonio and Page, James Michael. “Negotiating with
the Taliban: toward a solution for the Afghan conflict.” Crisis States Research Centre
working papers series 2, 66. Crisis States Research Centre, London School of Economics
and Political Science, London, UK 2010. Print.