Afghanistan: Identity, Society and Politics Since 1980 (Library of Modern Middle East Studies) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1784530816 ISBN 13: 9781784530815

Publisher: I.B. Tauris, 2015

Synopsis

Over the last three decades Afghanistan has been plagued by crisis - from Soviet invasion in 1979 and Taliban rule to US invasion following the events of 9/11. Here the top specialists on Afghanistan, including Olivier Roy, Ahmad Rashid and Jonathan Goodhand, provide a unique overview of the evolution, causes and future of the Afghan crisis. Covering political and military events and examining the role of ethnic groups, religious and ideological factors and the role of the leaders and war chiefs of the period - from the anti-Soviet resistance to the presidency of Hamid Karzai - this book will prove essential reading to all interested in Afghanistan and the wider Middle East region. Examining recent events in the light of the country's economy, Afghan civil society, cultural heritage and state reconstruction attempts, this is a comprehensive and diverse look at a country whose recent history has been marked by internal conflicts and foreign intervention.

About this title

About the Author:

Micheline Centlivres-Demont is an anthropologist and specialist on Afghanistan. She has been the editor of Afghanistan Info, an analytical periodical, since 1980. She is the author of Popular Art in Afghanistan: Paintings on Trucks, Mosques and Tea-Houses, and the co-author of Portraits d'Afghanistan, Revoir Kaboul and Afghanistan on the Threshold of the 21st Century.

Review:

"This is an enormously valuable collection. The list of contributors reads like a roll-call of experts on Afghanistan. There is hardly an aspect of Afghan politics, culture and society that is not illuminated here. Every contribution is brief, rarely more than four pages, like the typical journalistic columns that have been staple fare since 1978. The difference is that these authors really know what they are writing about.", Richard Tapper, Emeritus Professor, Anthropology & Sociology, SOAS; "This is a fine and all-too-timely collection of expert witnesses to the fate of Afghanistan, covering topics from statecraft, gender and ethnicity through agriculture and music. Centlivres-Demont has fifty years of Afghan experience and a keen eye for the accuracy and insider knowledge of the contributors.", Mark Slobin, Winslow-Kaplan Professor of Music, Wesleyan University; "A unique and immensely valuable perspective on the tragic recent history of Afghanistan [...]. There is nothing like this book. Start here if you wish to cut through the political spin, and let this excellent volume lead you to the Afghanistan Info archive and its unparalleled coverage of the people and country. I.B.Tauris is to be congratulated. This book is important.", Nancy Lindisfarne, Anthropologist and Afghan Scholar, SOAS; "This set of articles on Afghan events as they happened over the past three decades is a unique contribution to the field. That they well deserve publication in a collected volume is evidence of both their quality and unmatched perceptiveness.", Thomas Barfield, Professor of Anthropology, Boston University; "This book offers to all specialists and aficionados of Afghanistan a unique insight into the various phases of the Afghan crisis from 1980 to the present. The multiple dimensions of this protracted conflict are described and analyzed by experts and witnesses from a great variety of perspectives. The book is in many respects a tribute to the resilience of the Afghan people; it reflects the unfailing commitment of Micheline Centlivres-Demont, its editor, to keep for almost four decades the situation of the country [and] the plight of its people on the radar screen of governments, civil society organizations and the media.", Jacques Forster, Professor Emeritus at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva

About this edition

• Publisher: I.B. Tauris
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1784530816
• ISBN 13: 9781784530815
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 344
• Editor: Centlivres-Demont Micheline