Afghanistan: escalation of ethnic conflict

The article contains a brief analysis of the causes of the emergence and aggravation of inter-ethnic contradictions in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, which have become particularly acute over the last few years. There are over 20 ethnic groups in the country, the largest of which is Pashtun. In the 1920s -1930s, during the Basmachi movement in Central Asia, there was a significant inflow of emigration of the Central Asian population to Afghanistan and the number of non-Pashtun ethnic groups increased significantly. The system of the monarchist feudal state which existed in those years excluded the possibility of equal participation of national minorities in the socio-political life of the country. The ruling Pashtun elite promoted the idea of unity of the Afghan people on the basis of Islam. However, even the formulation of the question of granting any form of autonomy for any non-Pashtun people was excluded. After the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) came to power in 1978, and after its defeat and seizure of power, first by the Mujahideen and then by the Taliban (1996), the spirit of historical Pashtun exceptionalism now reigns in the country. Nevertheless, during the rule of the PDPA, the process of consolidation of ethnic minorities began: the prototypes of political parties and movements oriented toward a certain leader and a certain external force began to take shape. This situation caused and continues to cause irritation in the Pashtun milieu, which regards the Pashtun ethnos as a “titular nation”.