A Violent Nexus: Ethnonationalism, Religious Fundamentalism, and the Taliban

Abstract

The Taliban is a prime example of a movement that combines a fundamentalist interpretation of religion with a particular form of exclusionary Pashtun ethnonationalism among the jihadist groups. The existing literature on jihadist groups recognizes this trend in so far as a distinction is made between groups that focus on local objectives and others that pursue global objectives such as attacking Western interests. However, there are important gaps in understanding the mechanisms and implications of the interpenetration of religious fundamentalism and ethnonationalism. This article aims to address this gap by unpacking the mechanisms that link religious fundamentalism and ethnonationalism as hybrid ideological underpinnings of the Taliban. It argues that a more nuanced understanding of the entanglement of these ideologies is necessary for developing effective strategies for building peace and inclusive societies.

Keywords:

• Taliban
• fundamentalism
• ethnonationalism
• hybridity
• violence
• Islam
• Afghanistan

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Niamatullah Ibrahimi

Niamatullah Ibrahimi is a Senior Lecturer in International Relations at La Trobe University. His research interests include terrorism and political violence, contentious politics, nationalism and ethnic politics, and post-conflict governance and security dynamics. He has published several journal articles and is the author of The Hazaras and the Afghan State: Rebellion, Exclusion, and Struggle for Recognition (London: Hurst & Co., 2017), and co-author (with William Maley) of Afghanistan: Politics and Economics in a Globalising State (London: Routledge, 2020).