Phenomenon of Pashtun nationalism in the domestic policy of the Taliban movement

Abstract

The article is devoted to the role of the national factor, specifically the Pashtun nationality, in the process of shaping the policy of the “Taliban”. Since there are a lot of ethnic groups living on the territory of Afghanistan, it is worth studying how various political forces manage their agenda and how fully each ethnic group is represented in the structure of government. The “Taliban” movement has been in power for two terms, one of which is still going on. Thus, it is possible to trace back the evolution of the Pashtun factor and determine the influence of nationalism on the political discourse of the extremely conservative society. There are a lot of research papers that are devoted to the religious component in the ideology of the movement, and that can be explained by the prevailing role of Islam on the Afghan territory. However, under the rule of the National Democratic Party of Afghanistan (NDPA), an effort was made to secularize the Afghan society. In hindsight, it can be seen that such approach has led to social rejection due to many reasons. The efforts of neglecting or minimizing the role of religious institutions in the traditional Muslim society are perceived as a challenge and cause discontent among citizens. The affiliation with the whole Umma prevails over national identity. As for Afghanistan, the country is split into the zones of influence, and they can be governed by other forces, different from the official “Taliban” government in Kabul. The Pashtun community amounts to approximately 50% of the whole Afghan population which makes it important to take into account their role in the political process.