Tribalism and Afghan Political Traditions

[یاسمینه]

Summary: Afghanistan is a country where two visions of order clashed with all might, and two worlds came into conflict – the world of the tribes and the world of people outside the tribal structures, usually craftsmen, merchants and peasants. While preserving their own structures, values and standards, they organise the society based on different paradigms. The key term allowing to distinguish the two worlds is the notion of tribalism. The term, usually associated with nomadism, in Afghanistan has a much wider frame of reference and cannot be reduced merely to the dichotomous distinction between the nomadic and sedentary population. Not all nomads are organised in tribes, just as many rural communities function according to the principles of tribalism. The concept itself is much broader, as tribalism is a manner of perceiving and organising reality according to specific principles, established systems of bonds and interrelationships. It is a type of mentality, and – according to some
researchers – it also has a metaphysical dimension for Pashtuns.

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