26 Afghanistan: A Primary Example of Invasion, Sharia Law, and the Emergence of the Taliban Government by Juan Jose Sanchez

Introduction: Early Invasions of Afghanistan.

Afghanistan has a long history of being invaded and is a warring society amid different ethnicities and internal religious sects. Afghanistan is a landlocked country and is considered to be the gateway between Asia and Europe. Afghanistan’s history of invasion begins with Alexander the Great of Macedonia in 329 B.C., Darius I of Babylonia circa 500 B.C., and Mahmud of Ghazni, an 11th century conqueror who created an empire from Iran to India. Mahmud of Ghazni is considered to be the greatest of Afghanistan’s conquerors (A Historical Timeline of Afghanistan, 2021). Genghis Khan took control of the territory in the 13th century, but it was not until 1709 that Afghanistan was established as a country.

More recently the Taliban government has claimed and perceived this territory as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA). The national anthem of Afghanistan acknowledges 14 ethnicities; among them are the Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, Balochis, Turkmens, Nooristanis, Pamiris, Arabs, Gujars, Brahuis, Aimaqs and Pasha. Afghanistan occupies a total area of 625,864 km2, making it the fourth largest country according to size in the world (Muzaffar et al., 2021, p. 1). The neighboring countries are Pakistan, Kashmir, China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and Turkmenistan.

The intricate interplay of its neighboring states, regional dynamics, different ethnicities, and global interests have transformed the multi-fractured state into a quagmire of conflict and terrorism (Ramazan & Chaman, 2024, p. 1). Afghanistan continued to be invaded in the 20th century by the United States of America (USA) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). With the withdrawal of the USA and NATO forces on August 15, 2021, democracy collapsed within six days and total control was taken by the Taliban. Afghanistan is a case of a weak state that has a historical pattern of invasion violence, internal conflict, a radical view of Sharia Law, and poverty.

The first section of this term paper will focus on the historical background of the invasions of Great Britain, The Soviet Union (USSR), and the United States of America (USA). In addition, the first section of this term paper will also focus on the Civil War (1992-1996) and the emergence of the Taliban. The second section of this term paper will focus on institutional features such as the radical view of Sharia Law, the Afghan police force, and education. Lastly, the third section of this term paper will focus on their economy, Taliban ideology, and the humanitarian crisis.

Historical Background: Invasions, Civil War, and the Emergence of the Taliban.

This landlocked country has faced repeated invasions, internal conflicts, and sociopolitical upheaval. The modern history of Afghanistan, particularly in the context of invasions, Civil War, and the rise of the Taliban highlights a pattern of foreign interference and domestic struggle that has deeply influenced its trajectory. Great Britain, looking to protect its Indian empire from Russia, attempted to extend Afghanistan. Consequently, this resulted in a series of British-Afghan wars (1838-42, 1878-80, 1919-21). The first British-Afghan war was the invasion into Kabul in 1838-42, which ended in a massacre of the British army that left one soldier alive. This message was clear, the Afghan residents wanted them out of their country (McNamara, 2019).

They invaded again in 1878-1880, starting the second British-Afghan war; this invasion was intended to expel Russian influence from Afghanistan. They were successful and secured a diplomatic solution that kept the Russian influence out of Afghanistan for the rest of the 19th century (McNamara, 2019). The third invasion was unstable in the wake of World War I, and this instability contributed to the defeat in the Third British-Afghan war (1919-21). One example of their instability is when, “Britain spent lavishly on its empire and led the Allied forces in the two world wars, which drained the United Kingdom economically” (O’Neil et al., 2023, p. 222). Even though Afghanistan became a country in 1709, it wasn’t until after they defeated the British that they became an independent nation (A Historical Timeline of Afghanistan, 2021). The next invasion came from the USSR, supporting the current Communist Regime inside of Afghanistan in 1979.

The USSR invaded and occupied Afghanistan in December of 1979 to intervene and support the Afghan communist government. They were in conflict with anti-communist Muslim guerrillas during the Afghan War (1978-92) and stayed in Afghanistan until mid-February 1989 (Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan 2024). The aim of the Soviet invasion was to prop up their new client state, which was headed by Banner leader Babrak Karmal. However, The United States supported the Mujahideen (Islamic guerrilla fighters) anti-communist group which sparked a decade-long war known as the Soviet-Afghan War. This war became a quagmire and, by the late, 1980s was a disintegrating Communist Regime in the Soviet Union. In 1988, the Soviets signed an accord with the United States,
Pakistan, and Afghanistan, and withdrew its troops. The withdrawal was completed on February 15, 1989, and the Afghan state returned to nonaligned status (Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan 2024).

The Afghan Civil War (1992-1996) is also known as the Second Afghan Civil War. Kabul witnessed the fall of the communist regime in Afghanistan (1992), where the USSR tried to define the country’s political system. Internal fighting over Kabul had started on April 25, 1992, involving six different armies: Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin, Jamiat-e Islami, Harakat-i-Inqilab-i-Islami, Ittehad-e Islami, Hezb-i Wahdat and Junbish-i Milli (Afghan Civil War (1992–1996), 2024). A different group emerged in 1994 originating from a network of religious students called the Taliban1. The Taliban’s success brought a complex interplay of different factors such as the Pakistani assistance and marked a turning point in the civil war (Dorronsoro, 2007, n.p).

Initially, the Taliban promised peace and order and the imposition of strict Islamic law. By 1996, they had captured Kabul establishing the regime that enforced several restrictions particularly on women, and harbored extremist groups such as Al Qaeda. The Taliban’s rise can be attributed to widespread disillusionment with the warlords and the failure of international actors to stabilize the country.

The US invaded Afghanistan after harboring the extremist group Al Qaeda. In April 2021, President Joe Biden announced a complete withdrawal from Afghanistan. Taliban forces seized Kabul on August 15, 2021, after the US-backed government collapsed and its leaders fled into exile (Matheou, 2024). The Soviet invasion, the Civil War, and the Taliban’s rise illustrate the consequences of external interference compounded by domestic fragmentation.

Institutional Features: Sharia Law, Afghan Police Force, and Education.

The Taliban, or “students” in the Pashto language, emerged in the early 1990s in northern Pakistan following the withdrawal of Soviet troops after the invasion in 1979 of Afghanistan (Who Are the Taliban?, 2022).  The Taliban Government in Afghanistan operates under a system deeply rooted in its interpretation of sharia law intertwined with traditional tribal customs. This ideological foundation shapes the country’s legal, education, and police institutional features. Since the Taliban regained control in 2021, these institutional features have solidified their authority while simultaneously isolating Afghanistan from the global community. Thus, it is essential to understand the topic of Sharia law, the police force, and the educational system influencing the Taliban’s governance, highlighting their impact on society, and the fractured state’s functionality.

The Taliban’s strict interpretation of Sharia Law is the cornerstone of their governance. Laws are enforced without compromise, with harsh punishments, such as stoning for adultery or amputations for theft. These interpretations of Sharia Law is a measure aimed to create a moral society but causes conflict with human rights standards. Sharia Law is monitored and enforced by the Taliban police force and comprises 250,000 members (Shinwari, 2024). The police also dictate restrictions on women banning them from education, work, and public life. One recent example is the Morality Law, which has sparked tense exchanges over women’s rights, requiring women to completely cover up and not raise their voice in public (“UN Calls Morality Law ‘Gender Apartheid,’” 2024). Afghanistan under the Taliban government remains the most repressive country in the world for women’s rights. The oppression of women involved in the workforce has contributed to the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, because they cannot get past Taliban restrictions to help build their economy (“Punitive Restrictions on Women’s Rights,” 2023).

The Taliban’s police force reinforces their ideological governance. The Taliban’s policies towards women cost Afghanistan over $1 billion a year (Thomas, 2024, p. 12). The police force was replaced by the Taliban fighters operating under a militarized model focusing on the enforcement of religious rule over public safety. The current legal environment in Afghanistan comprises three incoherent sources of law—State legal code, customary practices and Islamic Sharia Law (Zada, 2020, p. 1). The Taliban’s radical view of Sharia Law causes the police force to implement harsh penalties for perceived transgressions.

The institutional feature of the education department under the Taliban further entrenches their ideology of Sharia Law. Schools focus almost exclusively on Quranic studies, sidelining secular subjects critical for modernization. Millions of girls and women across Afghanistan have been banned from school, universities, employment, and the freedom to go out in public on their own (Nader, 2024). The Taliban aim to sustain their authority for future generations embedding their interpretation of Sharia Law into the fabric of Afghan Society.

The institutional features of the Taliban government are deeply rooted in their interpretation of Sharia Law. With militarized enforcement and ideological education, the path dependencies to a modernized state seems grim. These institutional features consolidate the Taliban authority and uphold their ideology; they come with the price of human rights, social development, and international legitimacy. The strict control of legal, social, and educational systems continues to alienate Afghanistan as a country leaving them in isolationism to the rest of the world.

Political Culture: Economy, Taliban Ideology, and the Humanitarian Crisis.

Afghanistan’s political culture is shaped by historical, economic, and ideological factors. Central to understanding this culture is the impact of the Taliban’s resurgence, which has
redefined governance, social norms, and Afghanistan’s interactions with the global community. The compressed challenges of economic instability, theTaliban’s radical ideology, and the worsening humanitarian crisis; paint a picture of a weak nation at the doorstep of a deepening crisis.

Economically, Afghanistan has long faced challenges due to its reliance on agriculture, lack of industrialization, and dependence on foreign aid. Afghanistan is considered to be one of the world’s poorest and most aid-dependent countries (Thomas, 2024, p. 14). Following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, international sanctions on frozen assets further deteriorated the economy, leading to widespread unemployment and extreme poverty. The Taliban’s governance model, which prioritizes strict ideological adherence over practical economic reforms, has worsened this crisis. They’re restrictive policies, especially on women’s participation in the workforce, have significantly reduced economic productivity and global financial assistance.

Ideologically, the Taliban’s interpretation of Islamic Law governs Afghanistan’s political and social framework. Their strict enforcement of Sharia has alienated much of the international Community, ruining opportunities for diplomatic and economic cooperation. Internally, the ideology creates a polarized society where descent is accepted, and progressivism is viewed with suspicion. This ideological rigidity undermines efforts to create an inclusive political culture, further isolating Afghanistan from modern governance norms.

Simultaneously, Afghanistan faces one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Afghanistan’s economic and humanitarian crisis is likely going to intensify under the Taliban government and, at the same time, food insecurity is expected to increase (Chew, 2024). According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, over 12 million people are not eating enough food, and 2.4 million are facing emergency-level food insecurity. One solution is that 2 million people in Kabul (Pajhwok) are going to benefit from a water supply project. In addition to the food insecurity, drinking water is also a critical issue in Afghanistan. In the long and short term, it is clear that Kabul needs to implement larger projects, such as the construction of the Shah Tut Dam (Sarwari, 2024). This may help with the humanitarian issue that lingers in Afghanistan and bring fresh drinking water to those in need. This dire situation reflects not just a failure of governance but also the devastating consequences of decades of conflict and mismanagement.

Afghanistan’s political culture is linked to its economic fragility, the Taliban’s ideological framework, and the pervasive humanitarian crisis. Addressing these issues requires economic revitalization, ideological modernization, and sustained international engagement. Without such efforts, Afghanistan’s political culture is likely to remain a source of instability in human suffering.

Conclusion: Afghanistan’s True Roots of Uncertainty.

Diagnosing what has gone wrong in Afghanistan is important in understanding their future. It is important to understand that instability was not rooted in Afghan culture. These unethical and ungodly tendencies were incentivized by the rules that govern society combined with absurd amounts of money pumped into an economy that they could not absorb properly (Murtazashvili, 2022, p. 22). The United States did not have a set military strategy when invading Afghanistan, but they pumped billions of dollars in aid to help transition the foreign government into a democracy. Economically, Afghanistan could not keep up with the new democratic government so, instead of formulating a new plan, the USA banked on resources sustaining a government and military force (Murtazashvili, 2022, pp. 22-23).

With the withdrawal in 2021, the USA immediately stopped aid, which devastated the Afghan economy and caused one of the biggest humanitarian crises in the world. The Afghan people never had a genuine vote over who ruled them or how. Many times, the conquerors sought rule through other means rather than making society a key pillar of the state. Afghanistan’s true roots of uncertainty have emerged from being forced to be onlookers, instead of given a chance to build their own infrastructure and put their country on the correct path. These roots only run deeper with every second that passes on the clock, and the future is as grim as the deepest root that they have.

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