Author Archives: Antonio Giustozzi

About Antonio Giustozzi

Antonio Giustozzi took his doctorate at the London School of Economics and Political Science and is currently visiting professor at King’s College London. He is the author of several articles and papers on Afghanistan, as well as of five books and two edited volumes, among which are War, Politics, and Society in Afghanistan, 1978-1992 (Georgetown University Press), Koran, Kalashnikov and Laptop: The Neo-Taliban Insurgency, 2002-2007 (Columbia University Press), and Empires of Mud: War and Warlords in Afghanistan (Columbia University Press). He also authored a volume on the role of coercion and violence in statebuilding, The Art of Coercion (Columbia University Press, 2011).

The Professional Middle Class in Afghanistan: From Pivot of Development to Political Marginality

July 25, 2017 by and
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This essay explores the various efforts to create an Afghan middle class through three periods: first under the Musahiban dynasty (until 1973) and republic (1973–1978), second during the communist period and Soviet intervention (1978–1992), and lastly since the United States-led invasion in 2001. Drawing on archival research and oral histories, the authors place the development programs of each era into broader context, while pointing to the similarities and differences. The authors also compare the Cold War period, when state-led modernization was in vogue, and the Continue reading → Continue reading →