Historical Summary and Analysis of Afghanistan up to 1950

After years of Mogul and Safavid rule, in the mid-1750’s Ahmed Shah Durrani consolidated the Afghan kingdom which stretched from the Amu Darya to the Arabian Sea and from East of Mashad to Delhi in the West at its height. George Foster, a well-traveled British East India Company official, described the relationship between the Afghan Pushtoons and their rulers:

“The government of the Afghans must ever receive a weighty bias from the genius of their ruler, and the degree of authority he may possess. But when not constrained, as in the present reign, by some extraordinary power or capacity of the prince, they disperse into societies, and are guided by the ruder principles of the feudal system. Conformably to this system, the different chieftains usually reside in fortified villages, where they exercise an acknowledged, though moderate, sway over their vassals, and yield a careless obedience to the orders of government. Rarely any appeal is made to the head of state, except in cases which may involve a common danger; when I have seen the authority of the Shah interposed with success.

Fifty years later, Montstuart Elphinstone, another British East India Company official, compared the Afghan kingdom to Scotland: “the direct power of the King over the towns and the country immediately around; the precarious submission of the nearest clans, and the independence of the remote ones; the inordinate power and faction of the nobility most connected with the court; and the relations borne by all the great lords to the crown. . . There is reason to fear that the societies into which the nation is divided, possess within themselves a principle of repulsion and disunion, too strong to be overcome, except by such a force as, while it united the whole into one solid body, would crush and obliterate the features of every one of the parts. . . the internal government of the tribes answers its end so well, that the utmost disorders of the royal government never derange its operations, nor disturb the lives of the people. A number of organized and high-spirited republics are ready to defend their rugged country against a tyrant; and are able to defy the feeble efforts of a party in a civil war.”

He described the people: “Their vices are revenge, envy, avarice, rapacity and obstinacy; on the other hand, they are fond of liberty, faithful to their friends, kind to their dependents, hospitable, brave, hardy, frugal, laborious, and prudent; and they are less disposed than the nations in their neighborhood to falsehood, intrigue, and deceit”

Afghanistan’s issues with the British began in the late 1820’s: concerned about growing Russian influence, the British told the Governor-General of India, Lord Auckland, “to watche more closely than has hitherto been attempted the progress of events in Afghanistan and to counteract the progress of Russian influence.” The British in India took this mission very seriously, invading Afghanistan in 1838. Auckland aimed “to raise up an insurmountable and . . . lasting barrier to all encroachments from the Westward, and to establish a basis for the extension and maintenance of British influence throughout po9oCentral Asia.” Afghanistan was to be a buffer state.

In the first Anglo-Afghan war from 1838 to 1841, the British replaced Afghan leader Dost Mohammad with the former leader Shah Shuja, pro-British but unpopular among the Afghans. In 1841, Dost Mohammed’s son Mohammed Akbar led successful negotiations to expel the British from Afghanistan, but nearly the entire British force perished on the long road from Kabul to Jalalabad due to a combination of freezing weather and Afghan rebel forces.

After the first Anglo-Afghan war, historian Martin Ewans cites pre-war Afghan respect for Christians and positive relations with the West and laments that, “The war changed all this: British and other foreigners were henceforth distrusted as potential aggressors and despised as infidel and immoral people. Xenophobia became ingrained in the national outlook and Afghanistan retreated into what has been described as ‘nearly a century of stultifying isolation’. The consequent setback for the country’s development is unquantifiable, but must nonetheless have been considerable.”

Power changed hands and the British fought two more wars with the Afghans in 1880 and 1919. Under the leadership of Amanullah, Afghanistan finally made peace with the British and officially declared itself an independent nation. A British government official described the new Afghan nation as “impregnated with the world-spirit of self-determination and national freedom, inordinately self-confident in its new-found emancipation from autocracy and in its supposed escape from Russia, impatient of any restrain on its absolute independence.” Amanullah made many social, economic, and political reforms in Afghanistan, attempting to secularize and modernize the nation. His advocacy for women’s rights sparked much debate among the Afghan people and threatened traditional tribal and religious leaders. Some historians believe these reforms caused his ultimate downfall.

The next leader, Nadir Shah, retracted Amanullah’s reforms, reinstating Islamic law and restrictions on women. However, he wrote a new constitution that lasted for thirty years and contained elements of democracy with a bi-cameral parliament but supreme power for the king. Nadir Shah stabilized Afghanistan and introduced many economic reforms with the goal of industrialization. The country’s main crop became cotton.

After World War II, during which Afghanistan had remained neutral, the nation was struggling economically and asked the US for support. The American Government refused to provide assistance, so Afghanistan was forced to go to a US company that came in to build a big infrastructure project. The Afghan government quickly ran out of money and the project lay unfinished.

Politically, Afghanistan has been ruled by short dynasties of kings. Yet, as early British observers point out, these kings typically did not exert much power, especially in rural areas. Afghanistan has largely remained tribal with decisions being made by local leaders and more significant decisions being made by a tribal jirga, or council of elders from all regions of the country. One observer went so far as to say that any power that could unite these regions would be so strong that it would crush them. This indicates that Afghanistan needs a decentralized power structure focused in villages where leaders know exactly what their people need. However, this increases the likelihood of corruption, specifically the trend of omnipotent warlords.

Another historical trend that jumps out is the xenophobia of Afghans, as eloquently relayed by historian Martin Ewans. Before the meddling of the British, Afghans welcomed and respected outsiders. After fighting with the British for decades, the Afghan people lost all regard for foreigners, especially Westerners. Even after negotiating peace with the British, they tended to balk at international involvement and possessed a deep distrust of the British. The Americans did not start off on the right foot either with their refusal to help the Afghans after World War II. Thus foreign powers must be exceedingly careful with any involvement and must include the Afghan in all decision making processes.

Socially, women have tossed back and forth between rulers who championed women’s rights to those who arrested religious leaders for telling all women to follow the purdah and cover their faces. In the early 20^th century, Afghans rebelled against social reforms. In the mid-20^th century, Afghans embraced modernization. They would all at least like the right to choose their own way of life.

Economically, Afghanistan has long struggled. Cotton and other agricultural crops have been successful in the past and have good potential, but the economy desperately needs to move more fully into the secondary and tertiary sectors and focus on manufacturing and services. The presence of poppy farms producing opium provides the greatest amount of revenue currently, so a more legitimate industry must undercut opium by being more profitable.

First Anglo-Afghan War

In the initial stage of our study, Betsy and I studied the history of Afghanistan. We began our studies in mid-1700s with the commencement of the leadership of Ahmad Khan, who is responsible for expanding the territories of Afghanistan to most of its present boundaries. The study of the history concludes with the end of the Soviet occupation in 1989. In the next few posts we will be describing major historic events and their significance. The first such event is the First Anglo-Afghan war.

Afghan history is plagued by family and tribal rivalries over supreme control of the territories of Afghanistan. Most of these disputes were domestic. The first major conflict that involved the forces of a foreign agent was the first Anglo-Afghan war. The war is a significant point in Afghan history, because for the first time in many centuries a foreign force penetrated through the layers of various tribal leaders and took control of Kabul. The first Anglo-Afghan war is an important event to note while studying the nature of the conflict of Afghanistan, because it is the first impression in the minds of Afghanis of foreign intervention into their lands.

The first Anglo-Afghan war emerged as a result of the Great Game, which is the power struggle between the Russian and British empires over Afghanistan. The Great Game raged on in the first half of the nineteenth century. Afghanistan became an important aspect of the conflict between the two empires, because it separated the Russian Empire from India, British territory. The Russians wanted to provide themselves with a land route to India, but the British wanted Afghanistan to act as its protective barrier against Russia. To achieve their respective goals, both parties conducted many negotiations with Afghan leaders. Between 1832 and 1838, Russian negotiators created an alliance with Muhammad Mirza, a Persian Shah. The British sought a partnership with Dost Muhammad, ruler of Afghanistan. Shah Mirza gained more influence than Dost Muhammad in Afghanistan. This power shift made the British uneasy, because the Russians were in a better position in the region.

As a result of the little Russian success in the region, the British decided to invade Afghanistan. The East Trading Company used the following rationale for their decision to intervene with force in Afghanistan: they feared that the Russians would spread into India; they believed that a strong British presence in Kabul is the key to stopping the Russians; lastly, British control of Afghanistan could provide Great Britain with means of infiltrating the Central Asian market. So, on October first, 1989, Lord Auckland declared war through the Simla Manifesto, which stated East India Company’s intents and reasons for their military action.

The British forces succeeded in the conquest of Afghanistan and put Shuja Shah in power. Shuja Shah was not able to keep Afghanistan stable and in British control. Shuja was not popular among the people and lacked the sufficient monetary resources for a decent enough army to control the region and withstand Russian attacks. During Shuja’s reign, some rebellions occurred but were put down by the British Kandahar garrison. One important means of maintaining some stability of the region was bribing tribal warriors, but in the fall of 1841, the British cut the budget for bribing tribal leaders. This simple decision led to massive bloody uprisings and the assassinations of Burnes, a British officer, and of Macnaghten, Shuja’s advisor. As a result of the slaughter of their Kandahar garrison, the British forces retreated.

The British intervention into Afghanistan had many consequences. The East Trading Company lost a lot of money, approximately 20 million British pounds. Additionally the company and Great Britain lost credibility, and the company lost army recruits. The sudden retreat of the British left the region in total anarchy. Additionally some historians believe that the British retreat spurred the Indian War for Independence. Lastly, the British retreat allowed Dost Muhammad to regain control of Afghanistan.

As the first act of direct foreign military intervention, the first Anglo-Afghan War exposed the Afghan people to foreign intervention in general. Due to the brash decisions of the British and their quick retreat, the first Anglo-Afghan War painted a dark picture for all of future foreign interventions and created a general negative opinion of any foreign influence on the domestic and international affairs of Afghanistan. The British did so by entering the and exiting Afghanistan swiftly and by not assessing the domestic situation of Afghanistan fully before entering.

Aigerim's Policy Recommendation

As Betsy mentioned in our previous blog entry, we want to start out our project by asserting our current opinions on what should be done in Afghanistan today through a general policy recommendation. Here is my current recommendation and general stance on the situation in Afghanistan:

Since the early nineteenth century, foreign agents hindered the stability and growth of Afghanistan and debased its chance to become a free and sovereign state: first the British, then the Soviets and now the United States and other influential western nations. None of these foreign powers gave Afghanistan a chance to develop itself economically, socially or politically. Due to the lack of time and independence for the Afghans to create their own political and legislative system, Afghanistan never had a chance for modern stability.

To create a stable society in Afghanistan, foreign forces should not influence the creation of any political, economic, legislative or social structures of Afghanistan. Instead, they should provide Afghanistan with the means of holding peaceful debates and discussions on what policies the “new” Afghanistan should implement. Complete restructuring of all existing government structures is the main priority for creating a stable state out of Afghanistan. It is essential that any new policies or laws come from the people of Afghanistan, because if they come up with guidelines for themselves, they would believe in them more and follow them. At the same time, the collaboration of all the people of Afghanistan would also create a feeling of camaraderie and unity.

Due to the population size of Afghanistan, approximately 30,000,000 people, it would be impossible to give each citizen of Afghanistan a direct voice in the restructuring, which is why debates must occur at local levels first. They should begin on a town basis for rural areas and a district level for bigger cities. Then every single town would elect a representative that would then go on to represent their town in a regional assembly, which would consist of an agglomeration of approximately ten to thirty towns. Lastly, each of the regional assemblies would elect a representative to a national assembly, a collection of representatives from each of the regional assemblies. The national assembly would then convene to write a new constitution for Afghanistan. Afterwards, the people of Afghanistan would vote on the proposed constitution, and it would only come into effect if 2/3 of Afghanistan vote for it. If this constitution fails, the process will go through the same town to region to nation cycle until a proposed constitution succeeds.

The role of foreign governments to aid Afghanistan should be in helping it to create a new constitution by providing Afghanistan with security for all the assembly meetings and by bringing in foreign observers to ensure fair constitution voting. Lastly, if this process works, and the people of Afghanistan create a new constitution for themselves, foreign presence in Afghanistan will be up to the will of the newly created government. At the current moment, foreign nations currently involved in Afghanistan must spark political activism in Afghanistan and allow the people of Afghanistan to exchange their ideas of an ultimate government for themselves.

These are just my initial thoughts on what should be done. I do expect some of my ideas to change by the completion of this independent study.