External Actors in the Afghan Problem
continues...

In the case of Afghanistan, 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. 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.

Moreover, the location of the country at the crossroads of Central, South and West Asia remains very vital. Unfortunately, this has to a large extent, brought about instability and civil war instead of yielding benefits for being so strategically located and has long led its neighbours—and other great powers to jockey for influence in the country’s affairs. Trans￾ethnic linkages also are important factors for external involvement in internal conflicts. The clan, tribal and ethnic bonds were stronger at the expense of already weak Afghan nationalism.

The above account of the motivation and involvement of the external actors in Afghan affairs, generally gives a picture of the situation that focuses on, apart from the role of the two superpowers, also the role of regional powers like Iran, Pakistan and some of the Central Asian states.

They all share considerable responsibility for the destruction of the Afghan state which has lost all its vital institutions, the state structure and the historical consensus that it once had. In the 1980s the Soviet Union and the United States found Afghanistan as a battleground in their global competition.

Afghanistan, at that point of time had become one of the greatest pawns in the international power game; this was supplemented with the conflicting ambitions of the regional powers. Apart from military supplies, the trans-national linkages helped form political alliances.

To be continued...