Working Paper No. 6. The Failure of a Clerical Proto-State: Hazarajat, 1979 - 1984.

Abstract

This paper uses coalitional analysis to examine the Shura-ie Inqilab-i Ittifaq Islami Afghanistan (the Shura) as an attempt to build a proto-state and the implicit difficulties within the context of Hazarajat and Afghanistan. Defining the key characteristics of a state as a polity having: political legitimacy, an administrative system, military control over its territory, a degree of service provision and official external recognition as a state, the author examines how far the Shura achieved these goals. He further examines the ideological and political components of the Shura including the traditionalist Ulema, the radical Islamist Ulema, the khans, and the intelligentsia. By considering the Shura's military structure and diplomacy policies, he attempts to explain why it ultimately collapsed after five years, resulting in civil war.

Citation

Ibrahimi, N. The Failure of a Clerical Proto-State: Hazarajat, 1979 - 1984, Working Paper No. 6 (series 2), 2006, London, UK; Crisis States Research Centre, 25 pp.

Working Paper No. 6. The Failure of a Clerical Proto-State: Hazarajat, 1979 - 1984.

Published 1 January 2006