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To appreciate Afghanistan’s predicament, it is essential to understand that all Afghan politics are tribal. Thus, while Afghans share a genuine national identity, their immediate concern in any political process is to advance or preserve the welfare of their ethnic or extended family group. Further, since the Russians and British artificially imposed the country’s international borders, the tribes are not wholly contained within Afghanistan. They straddle the borders with surrounding nations. Thus, tribal politics are also international politics.

Document Type

Policy Brief

Publication Date

3-2004

Publication

Strategic Forum

Publisher

National Defense University Press

City

Washington, DC

Securing Afghanistan: Entering a Make-or-Break Phase?

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