Power hedging and faith fetters: The factors of tribe and religion in Afghanistan's state building

Abstract

In recent years, Afghanistan has experienced sustained political instability that is rooted in a relatively low level of modern nation-state building. The traditional tribal and Islamic conservationists are too powerful and restrict the process of nation-state building in Afghanistan. The logic behind a traditional tribal society and a modern nation-state is different, and their power has inherent contradictions in terms of attributes, vectors, and fields of action. The religious conservative tendency fetters the modernization of Afghanistan in different aspects, and the absolute religious right negates national power in concept. In reality, the localization of teaching law eliminates national ability, and fundamentalism stifles the vitality of society. The tribal and religious policies of the new Taliban government will shape the future of Afghanistan politics.

Tribalism and Fundamentalism: The Two Fundamental Hurdles of Democracy after 2001 in Afghanistan

“…The collapse of power into the Taliban hand in Afghanistan brought the attention of most political science scholars regarding modern state-building in Afghanistan. The fragility and collapsing of the state in Afghanistan are considered a tribal challenge that restricted Afghanistan's progress toward a developed state by others saying modern nation-state (Li, Geng, & Zhang, 2022). Roughly fifty ethnicities have been recognized in Afghanistan however, fourteen one recognized officially by the constitutions, and the four ethnicities are the major ethnics in the country, Hazara, Uzbek, Tajik, and Pashtuns which all are the most active groups in the political arena, the Pashtuns preserved their tribal values officially in the county, however, the Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazara's left behind their tribal values and attitudes toward government and however the Pashtuns preserved tribal values in both political and social way of life.…”