Late nationalism and the collapse of development mentality in Afghanistan 2002-2021

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• Mohammad Ebrahim Forouzesh ¹
• a najafzadeh ²
• Vahid Vahid Sinaei ³
• Morteza Manshadi, ⁴

¹ PhD in Political Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

² Corresponding author: Dr. Mehdi Najafzadeh, Associate Professor of Political Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad [e-mail]

³ , Associate Professor of Political Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad [e-mail]

⁴ Associate Professor of Political Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad [e-mail]

10.22067/irlip.2024.81685.1374

Abstract

Afghanistan is a country with diverse ethnic minorities that have been in conflict with each other, without much emphasis on nationalism. Lack of social cohesion has led to the dominance of tribal leaders in the country. On the other hand, modern nation-state building has been introduced through the French Revolution and colonization in India. These two ideologies have resulted in a cultural shock, tug of war between tradition and modernity, and violence in Afghanistan. Nationalism, which introduces traditional values into modern clothing, is in conflict with liberalism, which emphasizes post-enlightenment ideology and development in Europe, but has not been able to bring development to Afghanistan. Nationalism has led to division and animosity between the various cultures and ethnic groups in Afghanistan, resulting in social conflicts, weak nationalism, and underdevelopment. Armed uprisings, the emergence of terrorist groups, foreign intervention, the destruction of infrastructure, and the collapse of the developmental mindset are some of the consequences of this underdevelopment. This sociological-historical research aims to answer the question of how the delay in the formation of nationalism affected the development and led to the collapse of the developmental mindset in Afghanistan. The hypothesis is that the delay in the formation of civic nationalism, weak separation of private and public spheres in the eighth constitutional law, lack of historical background to liberal teachings, the non-sociological function of global society, and continuous ethnic nationalism without regard to the past have contributed to this collapse.

Keywords

• Afghan nationalism
• development
• liberal democracy
• multiculturalism
• and development