Persistence and change in Soviet and Russian relations with Afghanistan

Abstract

This paper examines persistence and change in the Soviet Union's and then Russia's relations with Afghanistan with respect to development and security. First, a detailed analysis of the promise and reality of Soviet development assistance reveals conceptual shortcomings in their attempt to induce economic development in Afghanistan. The Soviet Union's heritage is then revealed in order to understand Russia's current perception of post-Taliban Afghanistan as well as Russia's emerging interests and commitment to Afghanistan's economic development. This paper argues that Russia will most likely replicate standard industrialization development approaches in contributing to Afghanistan's development. Therefore, Russia will probably run into problems similar to those that led to the failure of the Soviet modernization project, which consisted of large-scale development projects that were inappropriate to the country's institutions and the lives of most Afghans. It is questionable whether such reiteration will induce economic development now, in the complex setting of a fragmented and fragile state with a multitude of external players looking out for their own interests.

Keywords:

• security
• development
• modernization theory
• Afghanistan
• Russia
• Soviet Union

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft for funding the research project ‘Human Security and Development in Afghanistan: Regional Analyses and Development Opportunities in Badakhshan, Baghlan, Balkh, Kunduz and Takhar Provinces’. The authors would also like to thank Hermann Kreutzmann and the anonymous reviewers for their useful comments made on the earlier drafts of the paper.