A Study On The State-building Of Afghanistan During The Barakchai Dynasty

The Barakzai Dynasty,which superseded the previous Durrani Dynasty is the second peroid of the Afghan Monarchy era.The Muhammadzai Tribes,whose members wielded great power in the former regime emerged as the most powerful candidates during the internecine riot and relatively reunited Afghanistan again,The situation that the newly-founded regime confronted was much challenging.On one hand,The monarch was required to keep the country in order whatever it took.The amir had to maintain the balance between the tribes,the remnants of the former regime and the clergies which posed grave threat to the monarchy.Afghanistan eventually became the by-product as the Great Game went on in 19th century.The nation-building of modern Afghanistan consisted of relentless attempts including system building,modern reforms and diplomacy.Several amirs such as Dost Muhammad,Sher Ali,Abdul Rahman and Amanullah were the typical vanguards embarking on journey of reform especially the reforms during Rahman and Amanullah's reign were tremendous magnificent all through the Afghan history.The thesis focuses on the historical context that the Afghan state underwent the transition from traditional tribal state to modern nation-state as well as its everlasting consequences.The methods contains holistic view of world history,cultural anthropology,historical materialism and dialectical materialism in an attempt to review the the tribe-state relation,the measures taken by the governments,cultural development and the diplomacy.The elements which affected the nation-building and the implications base on those elements and the status quo were also take into account so as to grasp the impasse and hidden problems that the country have.The whole thesis is made up of five chapters.Chapter one deals with the landscape of Afghanistan and the history before the country was established in order to connect the geopolitical situation and its early history to the first former country namely Durrani Dynasty.The Barakzai dynasty ushered in a brand-new period base on the former dynasty which firstly accomplished the establishments of primodial bureaucracy.The peculiar geographical environment and regional history especially the role that Islam played had a inherent impact on the Afghan history.Chapter two focuses on the Afghan tribal society which came into being millennium ago.The process contains both macro and Micro delving and external characteristics.The Afghan tribal society has been incorporated into the cultural system and became uniquely organized.It also a part of triangle political pattern which are"Monarch-clergy-tribe" after the creation of Afghanistan.It was the interaction of these elements limited the authority of amir and spawn a fragile monarchy.The theme of Chapter three lies in the reforms during Barakzai era in which a variety of transformations undertaken by series of amirs under the changing circumstances Among which Rahman and Amanullah ' s reforms exerted tremendous influence on Afghanistan.Nationalism movement which emerged at the end of 19th century coalesced with the reforms.This phenomenon became the highlight of Barakzai Dynasty.However those rejuvenating reforms encountered miscarriage eventually due to the amirs' personal narrow vision and western powers'interference.As a result,Afghanistan was doomed to be manipulated by outsiders.Chapter four covers the development and the interactions of Afghanistan in 19th century.The Great Game and its conspiracies reflected the antithetical power those actors had and led to the annihilation of Afghan sovereignty.Meanwhile,Afghanistan made extraordinary concessions and received various British assistance in forms of cash,personnel and technology in return.It was the the British subsidization that ensure the success of the reforms to somen extent.The 19th Century witnessed both great misfortune and objectively positive progress for Afghanistan.Chapter five is a synthesis sum-up of the elements which affecting the nation-building of modern Afghanistan.Different theories offer distinctive profiles of the Afghan governance.The nation-building of Afghanistan depended on the inherent geographical condition and political culture.In the meantime,the lessons and failures that Afghanistan endured can be overwhelmingly explicit.That can boil down to three aspects,namely the paradigm of nationalism,the indelicate decisions made by the Afghan rulers as well as the geographical condition and ethnic and muti-cultural predicament.Chapter six focuses on the ethnic issue and the development of sovereignty of Afghanistan which indeed have certain illuminations for China.The turmoil in Afghanistan still characteristic in tough issues up to date surely has tremendous implication for the security of the western frontiers of China.It's high time China made new Afghan strategy base on the surroundings and perilous situation undoubtedly suits the interests of China and can be instrumental in the regional strategy of China.All in all,the thesis seeks to unveil the development of Barakzai Dynasty with the theme of nation-building and shed lights on the current situation of Afghanistan and its implications on the governance of western frontier for China as well.