Dating the instrumentalities of the Afghan state is the subject of debate (Maley 2002, 11- 12). Some scholars point to 1747 (Adamec 1974; Rasanayagam 2003), when Ahmad Khan Abdali assembled a tribal confederation independent of the Safavid dynasty in Persia and the Mughals in India. However, the Abdali-led confederation was less of a state and more of a loose alliance of tribes that shared a strong Pashtun cultural identity (Rasanayagam 2003, xv).
Domestic institutions were weak, boundaries remained in flux, and the confederation was in continuous dispute with powerful tribal khans (Ghani 1983).
Others observe that 1826 laid the foundation for the modern nation-state (Noelle 1998), when Dost Mohammad Khan of the Muhammadzai clan became the Emir of Afghanistan. During this period, British General Sir Henry Rawlinson observed the following about the Afghan state: “The nation consists of a mere collection of tribes, of unequal power and divergent habits, which are held together, more or less loosely, according to the personal character of the chief who rules them. The feeling of patriotism, as known in Europe, cannot exist among
Afghans, for there is no common country” (quoted in Arney 1990, 7). Khan began to change this by strengthening domestic institutions and establishing a system of tax collection (Noelle 1998).
However, Dost Mohammad Khan was removed from power during the First Anglo- Afghan War (1839-1842). With Russian military support, the Persians attempted to retake Herat in 1838. Fearing Russian ambitions in the region—which they believed could threaten their interests in India—the British militarily occupied Kabul from 1839 to 1842, and replaced Dost Mohammad Khan with Shah Shuja. The reason for the change in power was that the British believed Shah Shuja could more easily be influenced and controlled than Dost Mohammed
Khan, who was exiled to Mussoorie, India. The military expedition was futile and disastrous, and the British were ultimately forced to retreat to Jalalabad (Rasanayagam 2003, xvii).
Following the murder of Shah Shuja in 1842, Dost Mohammad Khan was restored to his former position. He expanded Afghan territory in 1850 after conquering Balkh, and again in 1854 when he captured Kandahar. His son Sher Ali Khan seized power following his death in 1863, but was ousted by his older brother, Mohammad Afzal Khan, shortly thereafter. As the elder brother, Mohammad Afzal Khan believed that he was entitled to the throne, which
eventually resulted in warfare between the siblings until Sher Ali Khan regained control in 1868. Although he was able to strengthen and expand state institutions during his reign from 1868 to 1879, these were not strong enough to survive the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878-1880) (Maley 2002, 11-12).
In 1878, Russia sent an uninvited diplomatic mission to Kabul, prompting London to demand Afghanistan also accept a British mission. Sher Ali Khan had unsuccessfully attempted to keep the Russians out, and outright refused the British offer. Although London nonetheless dispatched a mission to Kabul, it was stopped and turned back as it approached the Khyber Pass. This ultimately triggered the Second Anglo-Afghan War (Barthorp 2002, 66-67). British troops invaded Afghanistan in November 1878, and by early 1879 Sher Ali Khan had fled the country, installing his son, Yaqub Khan, as regent. Once the British took control of Kabul, they
compelled Yaqub Khan to sign the Treaty of Gandamak, which committed future emirs to “conduct all relations with foreign states in accordance with the advice and wishes of the British Government” (Wahab and Youngerman 2007, 90). The triumph only lasted a few months before an Afghan uprising resulted in the murder of the British envoy and his escort, prompting British
troops to reoccupy Kabul. Yaqub Khan abdicated the throne in late 1879, which remained vacant until Amir Abdul Rahman Kahn became emir the following year.
Many believe that the foundation of the modern Afghan state was established during the reign of Amir Abdul Rahman Kahn (1880-1901). He was the first to establish a bureaucratic government within Afghanistan, subordinate several internal power holders to a dominant central authority, and forcefully resettle large numbers of Pashtuns amidst non-Pashtun populations (Maley 2002, 12). However, this process was an extremely bloody one. It was continuous warfare during his reign, and rebellions were put down by mass executions and deportations. Amir Abdul Rahman Kahn himself described his task as putting “in order all those hundreds of petty chiefs, plunderers, robbers and cut-throats. This necessitated breaking down the feudal and tribal system and substituting one grand community under one law and one rule” (quoted in Rasanayagam 2003, 11).
Amir Abdul Rahman Kahn agreed to only have diplomatic relations with the government of British India, and he adhered to militant independence and defensive isolationism (Adamec 1974, 3). This continued under the rule of his son, Habibullah Khan (1901-1919), who assumed power after his father’s death in 1901. Following the outbreak of World War I (1914-1918), there was widespread support within Afghanistan for Ottoman Turkey against the British. Habibullah Khan was able to maintain neutrality and noninvolvement during the war, but this ultimately resulted in his assassination by an anti-British faction in 1919. His son, Amanullah Khan (1919-1929), assumed the throne shortly thereafter. The new emir publicly espoused democratic ideals and called for significant governmental reforms. Furthermore, in his coronation address, he declared that Afghanistan would no longer abide by the Treaty of Gandamak. However, Amanullah Khan faced resistance from conservatives within the country
who were opposed to his calls for reform. By April 1919 he had reached the conclusion that there was no way to placate conservatives, which were threatening his hold on power. Internal political difficulties, coupled with the rising civil unrest in India following the Jallianwala Bagh
Massacre,16 prompted the emir to engage in diversionary war by invading British India in May 1919. This began the Third Anglo-Afghan War (Barthrop 2002, 150-151).
The war only lasted for three months, and the outcome is disputed. It has been argued that the result of the war was a tactical victory for the British and a strategic victory for the Afghans (Barthrop 2002, 157). The British were able to drive the Afghans from Indian territory while conducting a successful bombing campaign within Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the Afghans were able to gain control of their own foreign affairs and emerged as a fully independent state in the aftermath of the conflict. This period of independence coincided with the beginning of global decolonization in the aftermath of World War I (Magnus and Naby 2002, 40-41).
Amanullah Khan implemented several judicial and political reforms shortly thereafter, including the First Constitution of Afghanistan in 1923. However, his movement unraveled when a Tajik rebellion overtook Kabul (Runion 2007, 92). Although Tajik rule only lasted for 10 months between January and October 1929, Amanullah Khan was forced into exile in Italy, where he remained until his death in 1960. Tajik rule came to an end after Pashtuns rebelled, and Mohammad Nadir Shah (1929-1933) subsequently took the throne. The new king abolished many of the reforms implemented by his predecessor, and severely limited the rights to free
16 The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre occurred on 13 April 1919. Several civilians were participating in the annual
Baisakhi celebrations—a Punjabi religious festival—when they were fired upon by the British Indian Army for approximately ten minutes. Many of the civilians were unaware that martial law had been imposed. The British government estimates placed the dead at 379 and 1,200 wounded. This stunned the nation and resulted in a significant loss of faith in British rule among the population (Metcalf and Metcalf 2006, 169).
speech. This resulted in the imprisonment and execution of thousands of Afghan intellectuals. In response, he was shot and killed in 1933 by an Afghan student, Abdul Kahaliq Hazara, who was displeased with the state of Afghanistan (Runion 2007, 91-93).
Mohammad Nadir Shah’s son, Mohammed Zahir Shah (1933-1973), took control upon his father’s death in 1933. Referred to as the “Father of the Nation,” Mohammed Zahir Shah assumed the throne at the age of 19 and was the final king of Afghanistan (Runion 2007, 93-94). Although he largely ceded power to his paternal uncles during the first decades of his rule, Afghanistan’s relations with the international community grew considerably during this period. For example, Afghanistan joined the League of Nations in 1934, propelling the country to international status (Adamec 1974, 216-217). Shortly thereafter, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt formally recognized Afghanistan’s independence.
Although the Afghan government had formed an economic partnership with Germany in the 1930s, the country remained neutral during World War II (Runion 2007, 94). After the war was over, Afghanistan attempted to liberalize many aspects of society, including less controlled elections for the National Assembly. Yet these failed when numerous diverse parties emerged in rapid succession and overwhelmed the government, prompting a termination of all political groups in 1951. Mohammed Zahir Shah attempted to experiment with democracy again in 1964 by establishing a liberal constitution with a bicameral legislature and independent judiciary. The legislature was composed of representatives appointed in a ratio of one-third by the king, the provincial assemblies, and the Afghan people. However, the new reforms resulted in the creation of extremist political parties, including the communist People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), which had strong ties to the Soviet Union (Runion 2007, 93-101).
The Afghan economy began to suffer in the early 1970s after neighboring Pakistan began to close border-crossings. This move, coupled with a severe drought, meant that Afghanistan was on the brink of crisis and ripe for popular upheavel. While the king was in London receiving medical care for a hemorrhage in one eye, Mohammed Daoud Khan (1973-1978) seized control of the government on 17 July 1973 following a nearly bloodless coup aided by the Soviet Union (Jones 2009, 11). He immediately abolished monarchical rule and eradicated the 1864
Constitution. He then claimed Afghanistan to be a republican government, and appointed himself as president. A new constitution was ratified the following year implementing a presidential system of government. However, Mohammed Daoud Khan’s relationship with the Soviet Union steadily declined during his five years in power. Although he had conducted a successful coup with the assistance of the Soviets, once president he shifted this politics away from communism (Runion 2007, 101-102). This eventually resulted in his downfall.