Analysis of the Intra-State Conflict in Afghanistan

• Main Author: Mudassir FATAH
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: International Journal of Politic and Security 2020-05-01
• Series: International Journal of Politic and Security
• Subjects: afghanistan; intra-state conflict; 9/11; international actors; tal; taliban
• Online Access: https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/ijps/issue/54229/648040

Afghanistan has been the hotbed of the international conflict since the Soviet invasion in December 1979. The decade long foreign troop presence mainly initiated the conflict within the different communities in Afghanistan. the withdrawal of the Soviets in no way marked the end of the Afghan conflict. With the Soviet withdrawal gave rise to a power vacuum and then the Taliban. The withdrawal of the Soviets intensified the intra-state conflict in Afghanistan and also the involvement of the external actors. The involvement of the external actors further intensified the intra-state conflict and the same continued till 1996. Afghanistan witnessed a kind of a stability for a brief period with the rise of the Taliban. The Soviet invasion and the civil war had already given rise to multiple militias and they continuously engaged the Taliban government/forces, and Afghanistan never saw the peace. The Taliban government too was not elected, so the challenges were bound to rise. The conflict continued till 2001. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the US, the conflict in Afghanistan took a new turn. US intervened in Afghanistan to dislodge the Taliban government and started the war on terror. Again, number of international actors fiercely got involved in Afghanistan. The United Nations, the NATO, Pakistan, Iran, India, Turkey, etc. all are now involved in the race for dominating Afghanistan, which further intensified the conflict in Afghanistan.