Afghanistan's Endless War: State Failure, Regional Politics, and the Rise of the Taliban

Going beyond the stereotypes of Kalashnikov-wielding Afghan mujahideen and black-turbaned Taliban fundamentalists, Larry Goodson explains in this concise analysis of the Afghan war what has really been happening in Afghanistan in the last twenty years.

Beginning with the reasons behind Afghanistan’s inability to forge a strong state — its myriad cleavages along ethnic, religious, social, and geographical fault lines — Goodson then examines the devastating course of the war itself. He charts ...