Modern Afghanistan: A History of Struggle and Survival - Softcover

Saikal, Amin

3.95

43 ratings by Goodreads

9781845113162: Modern Afghanistan: A History of Struggle and Survival

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1845113160 ISBN 13: 9781845113162

Publisher: I.B.Tauris, 2006

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Afghanistan's history is a sad one: Soviet invasion in 1979; Pakistan-backed internal conflict in the 1980s; the Taliban regime and then the US invasion after the catastrophe of September 11th. Why does Afghanistan remain so vulnerable to domestic instability, foreign intervention and ideological extremism? Amin Saikal provides us with a sweeping new understanding of this troubled country that grounds Afghanistan's problems in rivalries stemming from a series of dynastic alliances within the successive royal families from the end of the eighteenth century to the pro-Communist coup of 1978. This is the definitive study of Afghanistan.

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About the Author:

Amin Saikal is director of the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies and Professor of Political Science at the Australian National University. He has been a visiting fellow at the Universities of Princeton and Cambridge, as well as at Sussex University's Institute of Development Studies. He has also been a Rockefeller Foundation Fellow in International Relations. He is the author of numerous works on the Middle East, Central Asia, and Russia, including The Rise and Fall of the Shah; Islam and the West: Conflict or Cooperation?

Review:

Chosen by The Wall Street Journal as One of the ""Five Best"" Books on Afghanistan
""As an Afghan scholar based in Australia, Amin Saikal starts out with the advantage of fluency in the languages of original source documents and just a degree or two of separation from many of the contemporary figures he discusses in Modern Afghanistan. Saikal conveys some hard truths about his native land, including his broadest point: No Afghan government has been able to maintain itself in power without foreign support. He sometimes lapses into fashionable anti-Americanism, but he is right to note the many opportunities that America missed to influence Afghanistan as far back as the 1920s. Even in June 1976, with Soviet interference mounting, progressive nationalist President Sardar Daoud's entreaties to the Ford administration for help went unheeded. Less than a year later, this flawed strongman -- who looks pretty good compared with what came later -- had been toppled by Afghan communists and killed. The effects of the civil war and the Soviet invasion that ensued are still unfolding."" --Ann Marlow, The Wall Street Journal “An original contribution to the field.”--Robert D. McChesney, New York University

""Successfully sustains a new approach to Afghan history...excellent and lucid: a much needed account.""--Peter Avery, King's College, Cambridge.
‘Saikal's contribution to our understanding and analysis of modern Afghanistan post 9/11 is a very important one.’ –International Affairs ‘Fascinating...if you want an insider's interpretation of modern Afghanistan (and one that is remarkably free from one-sided ideology), this is an excellent primer.’ –Sydney Morning Herald ‘authoritative’ –The Middle East Magazine ‘Excellent and lucid’ –Peter Avery, King's College Cambridge

""'Rare is the country that has sustained as many blows, and such hard blows, as has Afghanistan...’’ the author writes in the introduction. A native Afghan who is now a director at the Australian National University, he describes in detail the twists and turns of Afghan politics over the last two centuries: the creation of the Durranni monarchy in 1747; the ‘’Great Game’’ Anglo-Russian rivalry of the 19th century; attempts by Afghanistan to achieve a semblance of independence at the beginning of the 20th century; the experiment with democracy in the 1960s; communist rule and the Soviet invasion; the Mugahideen and the Taliban; and finally, the consequence of 9/11 for Afghanistan. Why has Afghanistan demonstrably failed to achieve political stability? The author puts it down to three main interrelated variable- royal polygamy, foreign interference and ideological extremism.’’-- Oxfam Development Resources Review

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