THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE AFGHAN QUESTION: STRUCTURAL CONSTRAINTS ON THE AFGHAN SOLUTION

Abstract

The article examines how Taliban-ruled Afghanistan faces several challenges due to structural constraints in the post-US era. In this study, the authors aim to identify recurring obstacles to the Afghan state and nation-building process that cannot be adequately explained using reductive reasoning. The literature review identifies four structural variables contributing to the recurrence of political, economic, and humanitarian failures in Afghanistan. These variables include insecurities of regional states; the absence of a hegemon and diversity of political ideologies; regional defiance of the liberal world order; and US influence on the international economic system. Since Afghanistan cannot be fixed in any of the surrounding regions and constitutes a transitional point, the study addresses its regional fix by employing the concept of the Eurasian Balkans to analyze the Afghan question. The article concludes that its volatile fate stems more from external forces than internal ones.