War, politics and society in Afghanistan, 1978-1992 / Antonio Giustozzi.

Format:

• Book

Author/Creator:

• Giustozzi, Antonio.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

• Social conditions.
• Afghanistan--History--Soviet occupation, 1979-1989.
• Afghanistan.
• History.
• Afghanistan--History--1989-.
• Afghanistan--Social conditions.

Physical Description:

xiv, 320 pages : maps ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

Washington, DC : Georgetown University Press, 2000.

Summary:

• This book is the first to analyze the institutions, successes, and failures of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, the pro-Soviet regime that sought to dominate the country during the years of the Soviet military presence. Antonio Giustozzi explores the military, political, and social strategies of the predominantly urban and Marxist regime as it struggled -- and ultimately failed -- to win the support of a largely rural and Islamic population.
• Drawing on many Soviet materials not previously used by Western writers, including unpublished Red Army documents and interviews with participants, Giustozzi provides valuable new insights into the Cold War and the rise of Islamic revolt.

Contents:

• Part I. The Limits of 'Sovietization'
• Chapter 1. The original social base of the 'Democratic Republic' and its transformations 10
• The situation in 1980 10
• Transformations after 1980 16
• The countryside 17
• Chapter 2. Difficulties in the implementation of the social program of the Revolution 20
• Female emancipation 20
• The literacy campaign 22
• The land reform 24
• Chapter 3. The building up of the social base of the Saur Revolution and its limits 33
• The expansion of party membership and its limits 33
• The expansion of party structures 36
• Agitprop 40
• Expansion of the social base 46
• Party militias 48
• The republic of the notables 50
• Chapter 4. Reluctant concessions and co-optations 54
• Political approaches 54
• Religious policy 57
• Part II. The Afghan Regular Armed Forces: Reconstruction, Reorganization and Structural Limits
• Chapter 5. Karmal's 'new model army' and its role in the war 65
• Stages of recovery 67
• The impact of military operations 70
• Organizational developments 76
• Chapter 6. The political shortcomings of the armed forces and the party response 81
• Factional infighting 81
• Desertions 84
• The party and the armed forces 86
• Chapter 7. The efforts to build up quantitatively the armed forces and their limits 89
• Recruitment 89
• Levels of manpower 93
• Chapter 8. Attempts to address the strategic problems 95
• Police operations 95
• Intelligence operations 98
• Porous borders 99
• Strategic reserve 103
• Chapter 9. (In-)Effectiveness of the Afghan armed forces 107
• Morale and professionalism 107
• Equipment 112
• The overall strategic balance 113
• Chapter 10. Perverse effects on the army of the transformations caused by the war 116
• Part III. The 'Pacification Policy', 1980-1991
• Chapter 11. The early approaches 120
• The first strategic and tactical elaborations 120
• Tribal policy 130
• Chapter 12. The first political strategy of 'pacification' 137
• The local organs of power 137
• The National Fatherland Front 142
• Achievements and further initiatives 147
• Chapter 13. The National Reconciliation 154
• Najibullah: continuity and discontinuity 154
• National Reconciliation in the countryside 163
• Impact of the Soviet withdrawal 176
• Chapter 14. Overall considerations on the policy of 'pacification' 186
• Achievements 186
• Solidity and limits of the pacification policy 192
• Part IV. The Role of the Militias
• Chapter 15. Origins of the militia system 198
• Chapter 16. The rise in importance of the militias 207
• Chapter 17. The place of the militias in the economy of the war 213
• Activities of the Militias 213
• Loyalty of the Militias 216
• Attempts to increase the reliability of the militias 219
• Chapter 18. Perverse effects of the spread of the militias 225
• Chapter 19. Conclusion: The Fall of Najibullah 232
• Chapter 20. The aftermath: Afghanistan's disintegration 240.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

0878407588

OCLC:

44197652