From the era of Daoud Khan to the rise of the Taliban, Pashtun-centric ideology has consistently influenced Afghan political discourse. This thesis investigates the impact of colonial legacies,...Show moreFrom the era of Daoud Khan to the rise of the Taliban, Pashtun-centric ideology has consistently influenced Afghan political discourse. This thesis investigates the impact of colonial legacies, Orientalist paradigms, and power dynamics on the shaping of Afghanistan's socio-political landscape. By analyzing the connections between national identity formation and ethnicization, the study aims to deepen the understanding of Afghanistan's complex political dynamics. Ultimately, it seeks to promote a more inclusive and diverse dialogue on Afghan politics and identity.Show less
Last year, in August 2021, the US Troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan after 20 years of combatting the Taliban; since this was a deal made in 2020, the Taliban lay in waiting for the moment to...Show moreLast year, in August 2021, the US Troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan after 20 years of combatting the Taliban; since this was a deal made in 2020, the Taliban lay in waiting for the moment to come out of hiding. This paper focuses on finding out the impact of the sanctions placed on the Afghan country and society because of the Taliban’s re-entry into power. The method used for this research was a qualitative case study. This was done based on secondary sources concerning Afghanistan's history and contemporary events. Analysis of these sources showed the changing heart of America’s way of tackling these crises with a positive future perspective on handling these humanitarian crises. This research showed changing attitudes concerning the trade and official business with organisations deemed as terrorists; adversely, these changes will be seen in the future as current events are still largely influenced by the past notion of handling these humanitarian issues.Show less
This thesis investigated the current human rights situation in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Despite initial promises for human rights reforms by allowing girls to go to school and a general...Show moreThis thesis investigated the current human rights situation in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Despite initial promises for human rights reforms by allowing girls to go to school and a general amnesty for those who fought against the Taliban, in reality, neither was upheld. After twenty years of external Western intervention the question then needs to be asked if human rights promotion can achieve lasting institutional change and if so, how? Using the spiral model of human rights promotion and a single-country case study of Afghanistan this thesis analyzed the situation in Afghanistan. As a result, this thesis found that human rights promotion efforts can influence state-building to be both more and less in line with human rights norms. Through the creation and strengthening of a local human rights promotion constituency in a country, it is possible to pressure a regime for change from two fronts. These being the international community and the local constituency. If however this constituency cannot be built and strengthened the international community risks a backlash effect to its promotion efforts which may result in a rally around the flag effect increasing local support for the Taliban. This thesis thus shows that human rights promotion efforts have an important future in building resilience against human rights violations through the creation and supporting of a local human rights promotion constituency.Show less
Een onderzoek naar de relatie tussen de Afghaanse Taliban en al Qaeda. Hierbij wordt, aan de hand van memo's en memoires, onderzocht hoe de Amerikaanse ministers van Defensie Donald Rumsfeld (2001...Show moreEen onderzoek naar de relatie tussen de Afghaanse Taliban en al Qaeda. Hierbij wordt, aan de hand van memo's en memoires, onderzocht hoe de Amerikaanse ministers van Defensie Donald Rumsfeld (2001-2006) en Robert Gates (2006-2011) de relatie zagen.Show less
The poetry of the Afghan Taliban offers an interesting angle to look at the organization. It shows that aesthetics are a relevant way to observe political organizations in order to discover things...Show moreThe poetry of the Afghan Taliban offers an interesting angle to look at the organization. It shows that aesthetics are a relevant way to observe political organizations in order to discover things that would have remained undiscovered by other research.Show less
This thesis proposal seeks to assess the legal plight of Afghan refugees who fled to Iran, when the Taliban came into power in 1994-2001. It will investigate the factual circumstances to establish...Show moreThis thesis proposal seeks to assess the legal plight of Afghan refugees who fled to Iran, when the Taliban came into power in 1994-2001. It will investigate the factual circumstances to establish their status as refugees under international law. It will define the role of the Iranian State and its legal responsibilities to refugees. Analysis of the historical facts involving the refugees, and the legal responsibilities of the State of Iran leads to the conclusive findings enclosed. It concludes with recommendations for the State of Iran, how to raise its standard of treatment of refugees within its borders to international human right standards. Most of the Afghans fled to Iran, but also to other neighboring countries such as Pakistan and Uzbekistan. According to Strand and Suhrke (2004) This mass displacement involved 2,3 million Afghans refugees in Iran. As this thesis proposes failures on behalf of the State of Iran it is important to identify the factual conditions refugees were facing in the host country. As, this paper is critically examining how the government of Iran, the host country, dealt with the Afghan refugees during the Taliban reign from 1994 until 2001, It argues laws imposed on Afghan refugees in Iran were disproportionate. This thesis intends to convey how important the refugees could be for Iran and how Iran better could deal with the refugees. It does so, by identifying, facts, legal issues and through analysis and conclusion; proposes international protocols and standards for change.Show less
This research concerns the identity of the Taliban as a non-state actor in the political environment of Afghanistan. Although much has been written on identity from a constructivist perspective,...Show moreThis research concerns the identity of the Taliban as a non-state actor in the political environment of Afghanistan. Although much has been written on identity from a constructivist perspective, very few authors do so from the perspective of a ‘bad actor’ and none have been found that describe the Taliban’s identity based on its own discourse. This research will do so by analyzing statements of the Taliban made on its website on what they state about the Taliban’s relational comparisons. Using this analysis, the Taliban’s identity is described using Abdelal et al.’s four elements of identity: the actor’s cognitive model, its relational comparisons, its social purposes, and its constitutive norms.Show less
Bachelor thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (BSc)
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This Bachelor-thesis focuses on the development of the Afghan state since the regime of the Taliban was toppled by the invasion of the United States. This thesis explores the notion that...Show moreThis Bachelor-thesis focuses on the development of the Afghan state since the regime of the Taliban was toppled by the invasion of the United States. This thesis explores the notion that misconceptions about the manner in which the regime of the Taliban governed Afghanistan have contributed to the ongoing violence and unrest that plagues Afghanistan until this day. Firstly, the functioning of a state is examined through the works of Michel Foucault and James Scott. This provides the framework in which the regime of the Taliban and the government of Hamid Karzai are analyzed. The concept of a 'failed state' as outlined by Noam Chomsky and others is used to examine to what extent the pre 9/11 Taliban-regime as well as the post 9/11 government of Hamid Karzai constitute a 'failed state'. This thesis argues that by determining that the Taliban controlled a 'failed state', the approach of the US and NATO forces used to occupy Afghanistan and build a democratic state has failed. The idea of the Taliban as a movement that did not develop state institutions or govern Afghanistan has resulted in a lack of development of state institutions by western forces. The United States and its allies believed that holding democratic elections without developing the capacity of the state would result in a stable Afghan state. This thesis argues that the Taliban was not, like many believed, simply a barbaric Islamic fundamentalist movement that presided over a 'failed state'. Rather, it is argued that the Taliban by pacifying large parts of the country, implementing a system of Islamic law and developing institutions to exert its power, governed a territory that did not wholly constitute a 'failed state'. The developments in Afghanistan can not be accurately described without analyzing the foreign policies of the Soviet Union, the United States and the neighboring countries towards Afghanistan during and after the Cold War. The spread of Islamic fundamentalism from the 1980's onward is also essential. Authors such as Ahmed Rashid and Thomas Barfield provide the accounts of these policies and developments. When the rise of the Taliban is set in the historical developments that had taken place and by taking the policies of the neighboring countries into account, an image of the Taliban as a government presiding over a state which functions to a certain extent emerges. The thesis link the misconceptions about the Taliban to Edward Said and his notion of Orientalism. Cases are analyzed which show that the Taliban can be viewed as a calculating and pragmatic movement, rather than a barbaric fundamentalist movement. Mullah Omar claimed in 1996 to be the 'Amir al-Momineen', the 'Commander of the Faithful' and therefore the rightful successor to the prophet Muhammed. Many voices in the West see this as proof of the Taliban constituting a fundamentalist movement with an erratic leader. This thesis argues that this was a calculated move by the Taliban in order to present themselves as the movement with the legitimate leader that would steer the country away from the tribal and ethnic struggles which had destroyed Afghanistan, despite being at its core a mainly Pashtun-movement which had incorporated many Pashtun tribal codes in its version of Islamic law. Incorporating many aspects of the Pashtun tribal codes can also be seen as a pragmatic policy in order to be able to govern the mainly Pashtun south of Afghanistan. This contradicts the image of the Taliban as a barbaric movement implementing a version of Islamic law which is rejected by the entire population. Another case this thesis explores using various authors is the destruction of the giant Buddha statues in Bamiyan. The world reacted to this with disgust and blamed the strict Islamic policies of the Taliban and described the movement as being ignorant about the outside world. This thesis argues that the decision to blow up the statues was a calculated reaction of the Taliban to not being recognized by the world community with the exception of Pakistan, Saudi-Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan and that the movement was very much aware about its position in the arena of international relations. The occupation of American and NATO forces without developing the Afghan state created a situation in many regions of the country, especially in the south and the border area with Pakistan, where a functioning system that had been in place during the reign of the Taliban was not replaced by another system or the presence of the government. This has resulted in the reemergence of the Taliban as a rival to the power of the state in present day Afghanistan and through this, the present government of Afghanistan shares many features of a 'failed state'.Show less
