Additional information
by Omar Sadr (Author)
This book analyses the problematique of governance and administration of cultural diversity within the modern state of Afghanistan and traces patterns of national integration. It explores state construction in twentieth-century Afghanistan and Afghan nationalism, and explains the shifts in the state's policies and societal responses to different forms of governance of cultural diversity. The book problematizes liberalism, communitarianism, and multiculturalism as approaches to governance of diversity within the nation-state. It suggests that while the western models of multiculturalism have recognized the need to accommodate different cultures, they failed to engage with them through intercultural dialogue. It also elaborates the challenge of intra-group diversity and the problem of accommodating individual choice and freedom while recognising group rights and adoption of multiculturalism. The book develops an alternative approach through synthesising critical multiculturalism and interculturalism as a framework on a democratic and inclusive approach to governance of diversity.
A major intervention in understanding a war-torn country through an insider account, this book will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of politics and international relations, especially those concerned with multiculturalism, state-building, nationalism, and liberalism, as well as those in cultural studies, history, Afghanistan studies, South Asian studies, Middle East studies, minority studies, and to policymakers.
Author Biography
Omar Sadr is Assistant Professor at American University of Afghanistan (AUAF), Kabul, Afghanistan. Previously, he worked at the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS) and National Centre for Policy Research (NCPR), Kabul University. His primary research interests are in the intersection of culture and politics. He earned a doctorate from South Asian University, New Delhi, India. His recent publications include "Political Settlement of Afghanistan Conflict" (2019); "The Fallacy of Afghanistan's Peace Process: A People's Perspectives" (2018); "Mahmud Tarzi: Intellectual and Reformist," in Dev N. Pathak and Sanjeev Kumar H.M. (eds), Modern South Asian Thinkers (2018); "Afghanistan: The Vulnerabilities of Minorities," in Sajjad Hassan (ed.), South Asia State of Minorities Report 2016: Mapping the Terrain (2016); and "Rethinking Stability for Afghanistan: Socializing Great Powers in a Multilateral Order," in Rajen Harshe and Dhananjay Tripathi (eds), Afghanistan Post-2014: Power Configurations and Evaluating Trajectories (2015).
