Afghanistan

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 Afghanistan (1945-1990) Afghanistan has struggled in attempts to go through the process of globalization because of the fact that they are landlocked. In other words, they are completely surrounded by land, most of which are mountains, and do not have a coastline. This disadvantage has caused them to be torn apart by conflict for decades. However, you will see how in the years of 1945-1990, Afghanistan still experienced conflicts, however while doing so, they began to figure out what they need to develop in elements such as the economy and their government.

Timeline
(BBC News)
 * 1953 **
 * General Mohammed Daud becomes Prime Minister and turns to the Soviets for military and economic assistance
 * Introduces the abolition of Purdah, and other social reforms
 * 1957 **
 * Women are allowed to attend university and enter the workforce due to Daoud's reforms
 * 1963 **
 * Mohammed Daud is forced to resign as Prime Minister
 * 1964 **
 * [[image:whsmws6-globalizationinterdependence/Afghanistan Population Bar Graph.png width="363" height="269" align="right" caption="You can see the population slump in the late 1900s due to events such as famine that caused people to flee the country. However it is clear that they have improved such issues, and the population has been growing at a constant rate."]]Constitutional monarchy is introduced
 * 1965 **
 * Afghan communist party forms; secretly.
 * Leaders are Babrak Karmal and Nur Mohammad Taraki
 * 1973 **
 * Mohammed Daud declares a republic
 * Seizes power in a coup
 * Plays off USSR against western powers
 * 1975-1977 **
 * New constitution is developed that grants women's rights and modernizes largely communist state
 * 1978 **
 * Khan is killed in a a communist coup
 * proclaim independence from soviet influence
 * declare policies to be based on islamic principles
 * 1979 **
 * In December, the soviet union invades
 * US cuts off assistance to Afghanistan
 * 1980 **
 * US, Pakistan, China, Iran and Saudi Arabia supply money and arms to the mujahideen
 * 1982 **
 * Afghan Guerillas gain control of Rural areas
 * Soviet troops gain control of Urban areas
 * 1984 **
 * Osama Bin Laden makes first trip to Afghanistan to aid anti-soviet fighters
 * 1985 **
 * Mujahideen come to form an alliances with Pakistan against the Soviet forces
 * Half Afghan population has now been displaced from war
 * fleeing to Iran or Pakistan
 * 1986 **
 * US supplies the Mujahideen with stinger missiles to help shoot down Soviet helicopter gunships
 * Afghanistan, USSR, US and Pakistan sign peace accords --> Soviet Union pulls out troops
 * 1988 **
 * Al-Qaida is formed
 * 1989 **
 * Lasts of Soviet troops leave although the civil war continues to occur due to the Mujahideen's push to overthrow Najibullah

Ethnic Diversity
As shown in the picture to the left, Afghanistan has very large ethnic diversity which impacts the way they can develop and strengthen their country in ways such as the economy. The main ethnic groups of Afghanistan, as pictured to the left, are the Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzebk, Turkmen, Aimaq, Baluch, Nuristani, and the Kizilbas. Throughout past years, these tribes have been competing for power between each other in a vicious nature. Because of the tension between these tribes, Afghans have been at war multiple times, and have had trouble finding times of peace. In addition, it has changed the balance of power, which has previously favored the Pashtuns who were well armed and would dominate Afghanistan's armed forces. In the recent past, ethnic groups such as the Tajiks, the Uzbeks, and the Hazaras have armed themselves and developed well-organized groups as well. It its the diversity between these many groups that makes it difficult to lay down one idea, law, etc. and have everyone accept it. (CNN)

Social Movements
In 1953 When General Mohammad Daud became the prime minister of Afghanistan her turned to the Soviet Union for economic and military resistance and began to introduce social reforms such as the abolition of purdah; the practice of secluding women from public view. Muslims and Hindus had a few separate discriminatory factors, that only applied to their religious affiliation. For examples, for some muslims, as a women you were not able to leave your home, unless your were accompanied by a male relative, and limiting their interactions to only women and male relatives. For some Hindus, you were required to avoid all males whom were outside of the immediate family. You may wonder if seclusion occurs for the entirety of your life, and the answer is it does not. Your religious affiliations would determine at what age seclusion would begin. In the muslim religion, seclusion began at puberty, while for hindus, seclusion would begin after your marriage. After seeing the constant negative results of this movement and becoming close allies with the soviet union, the purdah was made optional and women were then allowed to enter the workforce and attend universities. (History.com) After the elections in 1965, the system of a constitutional monarchy seemed to be working well, and going strong, however in the early 1970s Afghanistan experienced a drought because of a sense of a political stalemate. This drought brought upon famine, 100,000 deaths and aside from that, caused many to flee the country. This got so out of hand that by the late 1980s, about 5 million people had left. (History World)

Economic Development
Afghanistan's economy is highly dependent on foreign aid because of the fact that it is poor and landlocked. Much of its population constantly suffers from housing, clean water, electricity, medical care, and jobs. The future of Afghanistan's economic growth has posed many challenges, as the government is having difficulty extending the rule of law to all parts of the country. In addition, things such as insecurity, lack of infrastructure, criminality, etc., are more issues that have troubled the development of Afghanistan's economy. However, over the years their economy has improved quite significantly after the decades of conflict that caused it to fall in the first place. (BBC News)

** Drinking Water Source Improvement **
 * ** Region ** || ** Improved % of population ** ||
 * > Rural ||> 53% ||
 * > Urban ||> 85.4% ||
 * > Total ||> 60.6% ||

Political Movements
On December 27th of 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. It was only a few days before the Soviets secured the area of Kabul and deployed a special assault unit against Tajberg Palace. However, after going out more into the country side region, the Mujahideen saw them controlling Afghanistan of aspects such as their culture and proclaimed a Jihad, gaining them support of the islamic world. The US supplied the Mujahideen with weapons to help them with their guerrilla tactic of attacking, then quickly disappearing into the mountains to eliminate battle. The Mujahideen turned the war all around from their, and began defeating the Soviets by shooting down their helicopters and planes on a regular basis due to their weapons known as the stinger missiles. In 1988, the Soviet Union saw they had no hope for winning the war, and because of the escalating military forces of the Mujahideen they had no chance. The last Soviet solider withdrew on February 15, 1989. This war created a "breading ground" for terrorism and the rise of Osama Bin Laden. (History.com)

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Government Change
In 1964 Afghanistan became a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. However, this new form of government lead to political polarisation and power struggles. However, in 1973 Mohammed Daud overthrew this government and monarchy and was then returned to rule as a virtual dictator. Daud instituted educational and social reforms as well as a pro-soviet policy. In addition, Daud was an advocate of creating a greater "Pashtunistan" in Pashtun areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. He caused the relationship between the 2 countries to fall apart which lead to his reignation. A few years prior to his death ,Daud declared Afghanistan a republic, and put himself in the position of president, to lessen their dependence on the Soviet union. In 1978 he was killed in a coup that brought a communist government to power under Nur Mohammad Taraki. (pbs.org)

=The Big Picture: How Does Globalization effect Afghanistan? =

Globalization is the spread of business, technology, and philosophy to spread through the world. In Afghanistan we see very much of that, socially, politically, economically, within the government, etc. However, the real question is, how does all this change and development/corruption really effect Afghanistan. In a social aspect, Afghanistan has been allowing reforms to take place such as the abolition of Purdah. In this sense, it causes a growth of vulnerability in women. In addition, the strong seclusion movement limits the ability to access healthcare/family planning services as well as limits the women's ability to attain economic independence. Changing the government, and implying a constitutional monarchy also effected the social aspect. In Afghanistan there was a drought because of a sense of a political stalemate. This drought brought upon famine, 100,000 deaths and aside from that, caused many to flee the country. This got so out of hand that by the late 1980s, about 5 million people had left. Moving onto the economic picture, Afghanistan is on a slow path, but heading in the right direction. After decades of conflict that caused it to fall, they are learning how to rebuild it back up again. In the table above, you can see the percentages of the amount of clean drinking water available, and how over the years, that number is increasing, and a pretty solid rate. In a political sense, with events such as the soviet invasion,the idea of terrorism and violence is spreading. That event caused the rise of Osama Bin Laden, and Al Qaida, which we know from present day has greatly impacted our world in a very negative sense. Even very broad ideas of globalization effect Afghanistan, such as the ethic divide and diversity between one another. These tribes have been competing for power between each other in a vicious nature. Because of the tension between these tribes, Afghans have been at war multiple times, and have had trouble finding times of peace. In addition, it has changed the balance of power, which has previously favored the Pashtuns who were well armed and would dominate Afghanistan's armed forces. With these different balances of power, and tension between one another, it is very hard to settle down one agreement and find peace easily. Globalization has definitely effected Afghanistan both positively and negatively, although being a landlocked country, and not having access to many necessities, the negatives seem to outweigh the positives.

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Important Faces to Remember


©Erin O'Connell 2014
 * Works Cited**