Joshua Rosenblum’s Reviews > Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History > Status Update
Joshua Rosenblum
is on page 240 of 408
Yet perhaps because Afghanistan appeared so backward to outside observers, no thought was given to devising a new type of government for this changed situation. Instead, the international community hurried to restore the highly centralized government first imposed on Afghanistan by Abdur Rahman, albeit one in which the government’s legitimacy was to be based on elections rather than dynastic right.
— Apr 08, 2012 03:58AM
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Joshua Rosenblum’s Previous Updates
Joshua Rosenblum
is on page 245 of 408
The presidential election was an innovation that while allowing the expression of popular opinion, could not by itself create political legitimacy. It merely gave the victor an opportunity to legitimate themselves by their future actions. An Afghan friend explained the difference in cultural perceptions to me this way: “You Americans pray before the meal; we Afghans pray only after we have eaten it.”
— Apr 08, 2012 09:34PM
Joshua Rosenblum
is on page 132 of 408
"Most significantly, while the amir had eliminated the old regional elites as political players and gained power over their territories by military force, he did not alter rural Afghan society."
— Mar 25, 2012 01:38AM
