Afghanistan’s Taliban – Legitimate Jihadists or Coercive Extremists?

Abstract

The military intervention in Afghanistan in 2001 was portrayed as a fight to oust the extremist Taliban. But the Taliban have long been regaining influence, with the military victory of the Afghan government and its foreign allies now seeming less likely than ever. In light of these developments, this article investigates what the affected people -rather than the foreign interveners -think about the Taliban, and whether they perceive them as coercive or legitimate. Building on a conceptual understanding of legitimacy that has been adjusted to the dynamics of conflict-torn spaces, the article suggests that people judge the Taliban on the basis of how their day-to-day behaviour is perceived. While the Taliban are a coercive threat in urban centres and other areas where they launch attacks, they nonetheless manage to construct legitimacy in some of the places which they control or can access easily. A major source of their legitimacy in these areas is the way in which they provide services -such as conflict resolution -which some people consider to be faster and fairer than the state's practices.

Community Security and Justice under United Nations Governance: Lessons from Chiefs’ Courts in South Sudan’s Protection of Civilians Sites

“…Secondly, in South Sudan and other countries with long histories of war and political turbulence, legitimacy can be constructed by providing accessible and predictable forums to resolve conflicts (Weigand 2017). The authority and legitimacy of customary chiefs is related to their consistent availability, and capacity to achieve fast settlements.…”

“…Yet while states are in crisis and international actors have intervened to 'protect civilians', local authorities may be central to justice and security provision. 'Customary' ideas about security and social accountability flourish even when states or international actors promote competing notions of law and morality (Macdonald and Allen 2015;Porter 2015;Weigand 2017). Relatedly, we know that refugee sites tend to be characterized by plural jurisdictions and understandings of law.…”

Geopolitical Dynamics of Afghanistan and Concerns of Regional and Global Actors vis a vis Pakistan

“…The US has spent one trillion dollars at this war and gained nothing except breeding more militancy in Afghanistan and its neighbouring countries. It is an undeniable fact that Taliban became more stronger than their previous position immediate after their expulsion from Kabul (Weigand, 2017).…”

Concepts of Legitimacy: Congruence and Divergence in the Afghan Conflict

“…Within this debate, the concept of legitimacy has received increasing attention (Egnell 2010, Nachbar 2012, Gawthorpe 2017, Weigand 2017. Scholars have commonly acknowledged that establishing legitimacy, the 'moral obligation' to comply with a power relationship (Hurd 1999, p. 387), is a key element for the success of any actor.…”