Guerrilla leaders win wars by being paranoid and ruthless. Once they take power, they are expected to abandon those qualities and embrace opposite ones: tolerance, compromise and humility. Almost none manages to do so.
Stephen KinzerRead
Afghanistan's borders are arbitrary, drawn to meet 19th-century political needs rather than to respect ethnic or religious patterns.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The borders of Afghanistan were created without regard for the country's diverse ethnic and religious groups.
Stephen Kinzer's quote highlights how the borders of Afghanistan were established based on the political interests of colonial powers in the 19th century, rather than taking into consideration the existing cultural, ethnic, and religious demographics of the region. This arbitrary drawing of borders has led to ongoing conflict and challenges in national unity, as these divisions do not align with the historical and social realities of the Afghan people.
Themes
AfghanistanBordersPoliticsEthnicReligionConflict
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture on international relations, one might reference Afghanistan's borders to discuss the impact of colonialism.
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