Forces of heresy versus forces of conservation: making sense of Hezb-e Islami-ye Afghanistan’s and the Taleban’s positions in the Afghan insurgency |
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Authors: | Philipp Münch |
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Institution: | Faculty of Political/Strategic Studies and Social Sciences, Bundeswehr Command and Staff College, Hamburg, Germany |
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Abstract: | Ethnicity and ideology are frequently used to determine whether an armed group is hostile or friendly vis-à-vis the state. By contrast, I argue that the social structure of insurgent movements holds more explanatory power for their respective positions than ethnicity or ideology. To illustrate this, I apply Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of a contest between forces of ‘conservation’ and forces of ‘heresy’ to the current Afghanistan war. I demonstrate that the social structure of the Taleban renders them prone to ‘heresy’, while the formerly second biggest insurgent group, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s party, has rather been an impeded force of ‘conservation.’ |
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Keywords: | Afghanistan war Taleban Hezb-e Islami-ye Afghanistan relational theory Pierre Bourdieu |
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