External Actors in the Afghan Problem begins....

Every conflict has its unique structure arising out of the issues at stake, the
circumstances in which the conflict is waged, the parties involved, and the particular dynamic according to which it develops. In analyzing any specific conflict, knowledge of the particular features of that conflict is just as important, if not more, as a generalized knowledge of the conflict process. In analysing the conflict in Afghanistan, one would find that the circumstances in which the conflict is waged, and the dynamic of its development and sustenance, significantly revolves around the external factors involved in the process.

This chapter gives an account of the motivation, involvement and ethnic connections of the external actors in Afghan affairs who share considerable responsibility for the destruction of the Afghan state which had lost all its vital institutions, the state structure and the historical consensus that it once had. The root cause of interference in Afghanistan by the foreign powers was political polarisation among the Afghan groups, which pushed them to seek external support to counterbalance their internal adversaries during the civil war.

In nearly every historical age, the existence of revolutionary conditions within states has led to the intervention by strong foreign powers. Weaker revolutionary forces seek to augment their chances for success by inviting outside aid, usually from expansionist powers.

To be continued.....