Afghanistan: A Modern History

by Angelo Rasanayagam

Overview

Afghanistan dominates the news today, as it often did during the Soviet occupation two decades ago. But even in the 19th and early 20th centuries at the height of the Great Game, Afghanistan was the focal point of East-West relations. Squeezed between Russia, China, India and Persia, its tortured history provides an extraordinary glimpse into the patterns of world politics. Today, Afghanistan sits at the pivot of a region where a new Great Game is taking shape, pitched between America, its rivals and the peoples of Central Asia.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781850438571
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	11/05/2005
Series:	Library of Modern Middle East Studies
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	6.33(w) x 8.93(h) x 0.86(d)

About the Author

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 & Acknowledgments
• Maps
• Introduction: The Origins
• Part 1: The Bullding 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 (1973-78)
• Part II: The Descent into Civil War and Anarchy
• The 'Saur Revolution' (1978-79)
• Prelude to the Soviet Invasion
• The Sovietisation 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
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index

Editorial Reviews

"...this is the most clear, accessible, and informative single volume available for general audiences...highly recommended."—B. Tavakolian, Choice
"...a valuable reference on communism in Afghanistan and its aftermath."—Sol Schindler, Washington Times

"...essential reading for historians, policy makers, journalists, students and all those interested in the state of the world today."—Middle East Magazine

"A magisterial study of this troubled nation."—History Today

"...competent history of modern Afghanistan...a good account of the Soviet intervention." —Times Literary Supplement

From the Publisher