Includes bibliographical references (p. 249-264) and index.

Features of Physical Geography -- Geographic Zones -- Agriculture and Irrigation -- Demography -- Ethnic Groups, Languages, and Structures -- Lifestyles -- Worldview -- Afghan History to 1973 -- The Afghan Empire -- The Muhammadzai Dynasty and the Great Game (1826-1919) -- The Period of the Independent Afghan Monarchy -- Socioeconomic Developments of the Liberal Democratic Period -- The Legacy of Imperialism -- The Legacy of the Cold War -- Geopolitics Then and Now -- Prosperity and Diversity Along the Silk Road -- A Dangerous Neighborhood -- The Geopolitical Background of the Soviet Invasion -- The Politics of Physical Geography -- The Geopolitics of the Jihad -- The Geopolitics of the Islamic State -- Traditional Afghan Islam -- Islamic Institutions and the State -- The Belief Systems and Their Sociopolitical Implications -- Loyalties and Identities -- Sufi Orders and Other Forms of Confrereship -- The Future of Traditional Islam -- Marx Among the Afghans -- The Origins of Reformists and Marxists -- The Soviet Union and Afghan Marxists -- The Liberal Constitutional Period (1963-1973) -- Sharing Power: The First Afghan Republic -- Marxists with Illusions: The Taraki-Amin Years (1978-1979) -- Marxists Disillusioned: Karmal and Najibullah (1979-1989) -- Holy Warriors, Mujahidin, and Fighting for Islam -- The Mujahidin Position and Kabul -- The Three-Branched Afghan Mujahidin -- Beyond War: Afghanistan in Post-Cold War Central Asia -- Legitimacy -- Islamic Politics -- Regional Cooperation -- The Taliban Movement: Internal and International Aspects -- The Future for Peace -- Modern Period Rulers of Afghanistan -- Chronology of Afghan and Regional Events, 1747-1997.

Either completely ignored in world affairs or lying at the center of confrontation, Afghanistan has ricocheted between these two extremes for over two centuries. Despite the current disinterest by major world powers, Afghanistan's impact on stability, progress, and regional cooperation remains crucial to Central Asian, Middle Eastern, and South Asian well-being. Not only does the geographic position of the country give it important status, but the conflict that continues to destabilize the region can be located in the confrontation among three forces: Mullah, the traditional element of an archetypal, publicly pious Muslim society; Marx, the old and new communists and associated secular socioeconomic forces; and Mujahid, the fighters for a Muslim Afghanistan, mobilized as much by ardent nationalism as by their religious zeal. These three elements, which rarely are able to cooperate, have held power in Afghanistan in turns since the Soviet invasion in 1979. Their rivalry has not abated with the Soviet withdrawal but has instead resulted in a civil war that has crippled economic cooperation throughout the area. Moreover, in various guises, these three sociopolitical forces influence the entire region from Iran to the new states of Central Asia.

In this broad study, Ralph Magnus and Eden Naby, whose intimacy with Afghanistan spans three decades each, detail the country's physical situation, human environment, and modern history, as well as the rise and fall of competing internal forces, most recently the Taliban. The authors offer analytical insight into Afghanistan's political position within the restructured Central Asian region, the ethnic relationships that complicate its politicalhistory, and the potential for stability.