| This dissertation examines the role of opium in the political and economic development of Afghanistan from a world historical perspective. My research reveals that the Afghan government's adoption of American anti-narcotics policy after World War II led it to enforce prohibitions and anti-smuggling laws that proved divisive among rural Afghans, who were both culturally ambivalent toward opium use and increasingly dependent on revenue from the opium trade. In particular, by the late 1960s and 1970s, when the global demand for narcotics exploded, Afghanistan emerged as an ideal source for illicit hash and opium. However, to maintain a steady flow of American money and aid, which it was increasingly dependent, the Afghan government had to enforce the culturally and economically divisive opium laws. More important, the crackdown on the opium trade coincided with broader political conflicts throughout the country. Thus, I recast the history of opium in Afghanistan to demonstrate that drug control, as a reflection of the ambitions, desires, and needs of the Mushiban state, were fundamental in shaping the conditions of statelessness and lawlessness that are commonly thought to characterize the Afghan opium industry today. The flourishing opium trade, then, is not simply the result of a fragmented state but rather a critical component of the historical process of state formation, social resistance, and fragmentation in the region. |
