Sources of legitimacy in Afghanistan are diverse, competing and contested, with traditional roots. Historical and contemporary observation suggests a major rift between a ＂sedentary＂ and a ＂desert＂ populace---that...Sources of legitimacy in Afghanistan are diverse, competing and contested, with traditional roots. Historical and contemporary observation suggests a major rift between a ＂sedentary＂ and a ＂desert＂ populace---that is urban dwellers and rural inhabitants. Tribal patronage, with its lashkars and militias, has traditionally been central to legitimacy of any claim to the throne, and lack of it has doomed any such aspiration. This dynamic shifted in the 19th century as the state attempted to consolidate its rule by relying on standing armies independent of tribal forces. While the Kabul-based dynasties generally upheld this new power structure well into late 20th century, with a few relapses, the persisting tensions ultimately led to an acute conflict. The Mujahidin insurgency of the 1980s and early 1990s was a manifestation of this competition. Afghan Jihad here is intentionally examined as a protracted conflict independent of its Western influence and backing and as it pertained to pillars of power and legitimacy of authority in the Afghan context.展开更多
文摘Sources of legitimacy in Afghanistan are diverse, competing and contested, with traditional roots. Historical and contemporary observation suggests a major rift between a ＂sedentary＂ and a ＂desert＂ populace---that is urban dwellers and rural inhabitants. Tribal patronage, with its lashkars and militias, has traditionally been central to legitimacy of any claim to the throne, and lack of it has doomed any such aspiration. This dynamic shifted in the 19th century as the state attempted to consolidate its rule by relying on standing armies independent of tribal forces. While the Kabul-based dynasties generally upheld this new power structure well into late 20th century, with a few relapses, the persisting tensions ultimately led to an acute conflict. The Mujahidin insurgency of the 1980s and early 1990s was a manifestation of this competition. Afghan Jihad here is intentionally examined as a protracted conflict independent of its Western influence and backing and as it pertained to pillars of power and legitimacy of authority in the Afghan context.
