Afghanistan. The need for new leaders

Afghan history has always been deeply influenced by the expansionist ambitions of other countries, which have used Afghanistan as a buffer state, a terrain of religious or tribal conflict and a Cold War battlefield. The emergence of the Taleban was the result of decades of conflict and the destruction of the traditional tribal structure, both triggered by the policies enacted by the Soviet Union, Pakistan the United States, India and their respective allies. Having become a territory of conquest and contrasting claims, the country lost its national identity. Now Afghanistan has a chance to plan a new national project, but this requires on the one hand a new balance between its neighbouring states (a new dialogue between India and Pakistan, for instance, facilitated by the United States and an international coalition) and on the other a drive for unification within the country itself which can identify leaders able to overcome religious and ideological divisions for the sake of what may be the region’s first project for a post-Westphalian state.

Keywords: Sequenza di strategie per l’Afghanistan, Pakistan e India, <i> leaders </i>, stato Afgano

Giandomenico Picco, Afghanistan. La necessità di nuovi <i>leaders</i>? in "FUTURIBILI" 1-2/2011, pp 7-18, DOI: 10.3280/FU2011-001002