AFGHANISTAN

officially Republic of Afghanistan, Dari Persian Jomhuri-ye Afghanestan, Pashto da Afghanestan Jamhawriyat, country located in the heart of south-central Asia. It has an area of some 251,825 square miles (652,225 square kilometres) and is completely landlocked, the nearest coast lying along the Arabian Sea, about 300 miles to the south. Its longest border, of 1,125 miles (1,810 kilometres), is with Pakistan, to the east and south. The 510-mile border in the west separates Afghanistan from Iran, and there is a 200-mile border with the part of Jammu and Kashmir claimed by Pakistan. The combined length of Afghanistan's northern borders with Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan is 1,050 miles. The shortest border-of 50 miles-is with the Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang of the People's Republic of China, at the end of the long, narrow Vakhan (Wakhan Corridor), in the extreme northeast. The capital of Afghanistan is its largest city, Kabul, which is located in the east-central part of the country at an altitude of about 5,900 feet (l,800 metres). The city is connected by road to most Afghan provinces and neighbouring countries to the north and east. The boundaries of Afghanistan were established in the late 19th century in the context of rivalry between Britain and Russia. Modern Afghanistan became a pawn in struggles over political ideology and commercial influence. In the late 20th century Afghanistan suffered ruinous effects of prolonged civil war, invasion by the Soviet Union (1979), and Soviet military presence (1979-89). officially Islamic State of Afghanistan, Dari Persian Dowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan landlocked country of south-central Asia. The country extends about 600 miles (970 km) from north to south and about 800 miles (1,300 km) from east to west, including the narrow Vakhan (Wakhan), a corridor 150 miles (241 km) long connecting Afghanistan with China to the northeast. Afghanistan is also bordered on the south and southeast by Pakistan, on the west by Iran, and on the north by Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. The capital is Kabul. Area 251,825 square miles (652,225 square km). Pop. (1992 est.) 18,052,000. Additional reading Geography Overviews are provided by Richard F. Nyrop and Donald M. Seekins, Afghanistan: A Country Study, 5th ed. (1986); Louis Dupree, Afghanistan (1973, reprinted 1980); Ludwig W. Adamec (ed.), Historical and Political Gazetteer of Afghanistan, 6 vol. (1972-85); and Arnold Fletcher, Afghanistan: Highway of Conquest (1965, reprinted 1982). Johannes Humlum, La Gographie de l'Afghanistan: etude d'un pays aride (1959), is a comprehensive geography. The first four chapters of W. Barthold, An Historical Geography of Iran (1984; originally published in Russian, 1971), discuss Afghan regions. Also useful is General Atlas of Afghanistan (1973?). Mountstuart Elphinstone, An Account of the Kingdom of Caubul, and Its Dependencies in Persia, Tartary, and India (1815, reprinted 1969), is the first detailed account of Afghanistan by an English observer. Photographs of the country are provided in Roland Michaud and Sabrina Michaud, Afghanistan (1980; originally published in French, 1980); and Camille Mirepoix (Stegmuller), Afghanistan in Pictures (1971). Additional sources of information may be found in Keith McLachlan and William Whittaker, A Bibliography of Afghanistan (1983); and M. Jamil Hanifi, Annotated Bibliography of Afghanistan, 4th ed. rev. (1982).Ethnographic studies include Richard Tapper (ed.), The Conflict of Tribe and State in Iran and Afghanistan (1983); Thomas J. Barfield, The Central Asian Arabs of Afghanistan: Pastoral Nomadism in Transition (1981); M. Nazif Mohib Shahrani, The Kirghiz and Wakhi of Afghanistan: Adaptation to Closed Frontiers (1979); Donald Newton Wilber et al., Afghanistan: Its People, Its Society, Its Culture (1962); and Olaf Caroe, The Pathans, 550 B.C.-A.D. 1957 (1958, reprinted 1983).Administrative and social policies are the subject of Anthony Arnold, Afghanistan's Two-Party Communism: Parcham and Kalq (1983); Beverley Male, Revolutionary Afghanistan: A Reappraisal (1982); and Ronald W. O'Connor, Managing Health Systems in Developing Areas: Experiences from Afghanistan (1980), a study of the country's health problems and traditional health systems. Maxwell J. Fry, The Afghan Economy: Money, Finance, and the Critical Constraints to Economic Development (1974), is still valuable.Afghanistan's archaeological discoveries are recounted in Viktor Sarianidi, The Golden Hoard of Bactria: From the Tillya-tepe Excavations in Northern Afghanistan (1985), a lavishly illustrated account of grave goods excavated from an early Kushan princedom cemetery; Jeannine Auboyer, The Art of Afghanistan (1968; originally published in French, 1968); and Benjamin Rowland, Jr., Ancient Art from Afghanistan: Treasures of the Kabul Museum (1966, reprinted 1976). Traditional culture is explored in Mark Slobin, Music in the Culture of Northern Afghanistan (1976); Hiromi Lorraine Sakata, Music in the Mind: The Concepts of Music and Musician in Afghanistan (1983); and Stanley Ira Hallet and Rafi Samizay, Traditional Architecture of Afghanistan (1980). History F.R. Allchin and Norman Hammond (eds.), The Archaeology of Afghanistan from Earliest Times to the Timurid Period (1978), is an excellent series of essays on all major archaeological periods. See also Louis Dupree et al., Prehistoric Research in Afghanistan (1959-1966) (1972). W.W. Tarn, The Greeks in Bactria & India, 3rd ed. updated by Frank Lee Holt (1985); and A.K. Narain, The Indo-Greeks (1957, reissued 1980), are discussions of the aftermath of Alexander's campaigns in the East. Abdur Rehman, The Last Two Dynasties of the Sahis: An Analysis of Their History, Archaeology, Coinage, and Palaeography (1979), is a discussion of the neglected historic period of the Hindu Shahi. Particularly recommended for the early Muslim period are the seminal works of Clifford Edmund Bosworth, Sistan Under the Arabs, from the Islamic Conquest to the Rise of the Saffarids (30-250/651-864) (1968), The Ghaznavids: Their Empire in Afghanistan and Eastern Iran, 994:1040, 2nd ed. (1973), and The Later Ghaznavids: Splendour and Decay: The Dynasty in Afghanistan and Northern India 1040-1186 (1977). Laurence Lockhart, The Fall of the Safavi Dynasty and the Afghan Occupation of Persia (1958), is also germane. See also V. Minorsky (trans.), Hudud al-'Alam: "The Regions of the World": A Persian Geography, 377 A.H.-982 A.D., trans. from Persian (1937, reprinted 1980).For modern Afghanistan, Hasan Kawun Kakar, Government and Society in Afghanistan: The Reign of Amir 'Abd al-Rahman Khan (1979), is an excellent study of the late 19th century. Ludwig W. Adamec, Afghanistan, 1900-1923: A Diplomatic History (1967), and Afghanistan's Foreign Affairs to the Mid-Twentieth Century: Relations with the USSR, Germany, and Britain (1974), are well-documented accounts of 20th-century diplomatic history. See also May Schinasi, Afghanistan at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century: Nationalism and Journalism in Afghanistan: A Study of Seraj ul-Akhbar (1911-1918) (1979); Leon B. Poullada, Reform and Rebellion in Afghanistan, 1919-1929: King Amanullah's Failure to Modernize a Tribal Society (1973); Rhea Talley Stewart, Fire in Afghanistan, 1914-1929: Faith, Hope and the British Empire (1973); Vartan Gregorian, The Emergence of Modern Afghanistan: Politics of Reform and Modernization, 1880-1946 (1969); and Louis Dupree and Linette Albert (eds.), Afghanistan in the 1970s (1974).Accounts and analyses of the history of Afghanistan since 1978 include J. Bruce Amstutz, Afghanistan: The First Five Years of Soviet Occupation (1986); Henry S. Bradsher, Afghanistan and the Soviet Union, new and expanded ed. (1985); Joseph J. Collins, The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan: A Study in the Use of Force in Soviet Foreign Policy (1986); Edward Girardet, Afghanistan: The Soviet War (1985); Thomas T. Hammond, Red Flag over Afghanistan: The Communist Coup, the Soviet Invasion, and the Consequences (1984); Anthony Hyman, Afghanistan Under Soviet Domination, 1964-83 (1984); Ralph H. Magnus (ed.), Afghan Alternatives: Issues, Options, and Policies (1985); Hafeez Malik (ed.), Soviet-American Relations with Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan (1986); Olivier Roy, Islam and Resistance in Afghanistan (1986; originally published in French, 1985); and M. Nazif Shahrani and Robert L. Canfield (eds.), Revolutions & Rebellions in Afghanistan: Anthropological Perspectives (1984). For the Soviet viewpoint, see Afghanistan: Past and Present, trans. from Russian (1981), published by the U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences. Victor P. Petrov Louis Dupree Nancy Hatch Dupree Administration and social conditions Government Until the middle of the 20th century, Afghanistan was ruled by the absolute power of the king. Two constitutions were promulgated, in 1923 and 1931, both affirming the power of the monarchy. The constitution of 1964, however, provided for a constitutional monarchy, based on the separation of executive, legislative, and judicial authorities. A military coup in 1973 overthrew the monarchy, abolished the constitution of 1964, and established the Republic of Afghanistan. The Grand National Assembly (Loya Jirgah) adopted a new constitution in February 1977, but it was abrogated in 1978 when another coup established the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, governed by the Afghan Revolutionary Council. Political turmoil continued, marked by a third coup in September 1979, a massive invasion of troops from the Soviet Union, and the installation of a socialist government in December 1979. A new constitution promulgated in 1987 changed the name of the country back to the Republic of Afghanistan and reaffirmed its nonaligned status, strengthened the post of president, and permitted other parties to participate in government. The highest government authority is vested in the Grand National Assembly, a body defined as "the highest manifestation of the will of the people of Afghanistan" and made up of members of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The Grand National Assembly has the power to elect the president, amend and interpret the constitution, declare war, and adopt decisions on "the most important questions concerning the country's national destiny." The head of state and commander in chief of the armed forces is the president, who is elected for a seven-year term. The Council of Ministers is the highest executive body and is responsible for domestic and foreign policy. The National Assembly is the highest legislative body and comprises a 192-member council of elders and a 234-member council of representatives. Afghanistan has a centralized system of local government. For administrative purposes the country is divided into provinces, each administered by a centrally appointed governor. The provinces are further subdivided into districts and subdistricts, headed by appointed commissioners. Armed forces Regular army officers are trained in a military school in Kabul. There is a small air force, with bases at Bagram and Shindand. A secret police force was organized in the late 1970s. Cultural life Afghanistan has a rich cultural heritage covering more than 5,000 years. Because of almost complete isolation from the outside world, however, little in art, literature, or architecture was produced between the 16th and early 20th centuries. Because most Afghans live outside the cities, their mode of living can be described as that of a peasant tribal society. Kinship is the basis of social life and determines the patriarchal character of the community. Religion plays a very important role. Archaeological research carried out since 1922 has uncovered many fine works of art of the pre-Islamic and Islamic periods. A revival of the traditional arts and an interest in new forms of expression have given a new dynamism to artistic creation. Of the new painters, some draw direct inspiration from the Herat school of the 15th-century Timurid period; others are influenced by Western styles. Through government initiative, some of the old monuments of architectural value are being restored and redecorated. The School of Fine Arts was established in Kabul in the 1930s. In architecture, the traditional Timurid techniques are preserved, particularly in the design of the exterior walls of mosques or tombs. Handicrafts include the world-renowned Afghan carpets and copper utensils. Theatre as known in the West has flourished only since about 1960. Adaptations of European classics were introduced at first, but the present trend favours the didactic treatment of themes from everyday Afghan life. In addition to city theatres such as those in Kabul, Herat, or Qandahar, there are traveling companies that take plays to provincial centres or country fairs. In music and dance, a revival of traditional folksinging has gone hand in hand with the imitation of modern Western and Indian music. Afghan music is different from Western music in many ways, particularly in its scales, note intervals, pitch, and rhythm, but it is closer to Western than to Asian music. Afghans celebrate their religious or national feast days, and particularly weddings, by public dancing. The performance of the attan dance in the open air has long been a feature of Afghan life. It is the national dance of the Pashtuns and now of the nation. The Afghan Historical Society is devoted to disseminating information on Afghan history. It publishes Aryana, a monthly, in Pashto and Dari. The society also arranges for the publication of research works on Afghan history, manuscripts, and historical sites and monuments. The Pashto Society works for the development of Pashto literature and for its promotion among the non-Pashto-speaking population. It publishes the monthly Kabul and arranges for the publication of old Pashto manuscripts as well as of works on Pashto linguistics and literature. Victor P. Petrov