The Afghan State: Internal Colonization, Ethnic Hegemony and Resistance

Abstract

Afghanistan is often misunderstood as a country of Pashtuns, while Pashtuns like any other ethnic group compose only a minority. In this paper, the roots of this misunderstanding are touched upon. While colonization as a phenomenon has almost disappeared at state-level, within the states this it has been maintained in the forms of ethnic hegemony and suppression of pluralism. Afghanistan makes a special case study to relook at this matter.

Keywords: Pashtunization, Hegemony, Ethnic-racism, Resistance, Afghanistan