Description
Nojumi, a former Mujahideen fighter against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, explores the domestic and international social, political, and economic forces that have played out in Afghanistan between 1978 and 2000. The theory of mass mobilization is central to his analysis that neither the Soviet-backed People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan nor Afghan Mujahideen leaders were able to form a political institution that represented the national interest of the Afghan people. Although Nojumi condemns the ideology of the Taliban, he argues that the Taliban understood the social and ethnic realities of the region and were able to capitalize on the decade of chaotic civil war. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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On September 11, 2001, the world looked in horror at one of the most nefarious acts of terrorism in history. Neamatollah Nojumi explains how Afghanistan became the base for radical fundamentalism and provides critical understanding of how internal divisions and the devastating effects of foreign involvement undermined the resilience of Afghanistan's communities, led to the rise of the Taliban, and now presents a unique challenge to international efforts at nation building. As the cycle of yesterday's allies becoming today's enemies turns once again, The Rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan provides crucial insight into the tangled interaction of domestic, regional, and international politics that have bedeviled outsiders, plagued Afghans, and that threaten, absent judgement based on insight, to be a quagmire for the United States in the years ahead. This is essential reading in our troubled times.
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