Walking the Tightrope: Dealing with Warlords in Afghanistan's Destabilizing North
Oct 2007, Vol. 152, No. 5
By Dominique Orsini
Warlords - military commanders exercising some form of civil and economic power in an area - have become part and parcel of Afghanistan's political landscape since the collapse of the state in the early 1990s. Their presence is felt in Afghanistan's regions, through their military and economic power, and not least, their clientelist networks. As the international community and the central government expand their presence outside Kabul, they are invariably confronted with the same dilemma: how to deal with warlords? Two broad policy options emerge: co-operation or confrontation. In Afghanistan's north, where commanders loyal to overthrow the Taliban regime in 2001, the answer to this question has to date been co-operation.
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By Dominique Orsini
Warlords - military commanders exercising some form of civil and economic power in an area - have become part and parcel of Afghanistan's political landscape since the collapse of the state in the early 1990s. Their presence is felt in Afghanistan's regions, through their military and economic power, and not least, their clientelist networks. As the international community and the central government expand their presence outside Kabul, they are invariably confronted with the same dilemma: how to deal with warlords? Two broad policy options emerge: co-operation or confrontation. In Afghanistan's north, where commanders loyal to overthrow the Taliban regime in 2001, the answer to this question has to date been co-operation.
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