Afghanistan A Failed Nation State or Tribes at War Over Who Shall Be the Big Chief

We desire that Afghanistan look like the Western nation-state, unfortunately Westphalian Myopia prevents us from understanding from whence our own society comes. What we view as our form of Government did not spring forth the moment the settlers arrived in Jamestown in 1607 or for that matter spring forth the moment King John signed the Magna Charta. What we call representative democracy in both the United States and the United Kingdom has evolved over hundreds of years and will continue to evolve. Sometimes in our rush to impose our will we forget our own history and how our institutions developed. The absences of historical memory combined with Westphalian Myopia are dangerous combinations that threaten the health of our republic.

I have a great deal of admiration for General Stan McCrystal. He is uniquely qualified to lead American combat forces, as he is every inch a warrior. He is a warrior, who has served in both conventional and special operations units in the United States Army. He is a proven leader of men, who is more than willing to share the hardships of those he leads. Having given a list of superlatives, I have to wonder if he has fallen victim to the age old disease which seems to inflict political and military leaders of the United States, Westphalian Myopia.

Westphalian Myopia is a disease that seems to exclusively inflict political and military leaders of European descent. It is symbolized by a belief that all people wish to shed their tribal heritage, to shed their primitive ways, and to adopt trappings of the modern western nation state. The nation-state, where tribal, religious and ethnic ideology are consigned to the dustbin of primitive beliefs; and instead people come together for the greater good of all citizens. The modern nation state what seeks to bring peace and harmony, where the rights of individuals take their place as equal to the needs of the state and the needs of the economic community? There are secondary symptoms which manifest itself by a strange belief that violence and ethnic strife are strangely barbaric manifestations of the past; where men and women are equal, where children should be permitted to become educated, and where the rural folkways are viewed as being quaint and the within the purview of academics in the fields of sociology and anthropology.

For over two hundred years, the great powers, be it the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, or the United States have fallen victim to the strange malaise of Westphalian Myopia. Rather that recognizing that the tribes and the people of the tribes which make up the western created country of Afghanistan view themselves as members of a tribe first and foremost; and to whom the notion of a nation-state is as foreign as the invaders who attempt to occupy their country, we seek to imposed the Western concept of the nation-state. Rather than acknowledge that tribal violence, that the religion of Afghanistan will not allow dissent or believers other than those who accept Islam. Women are afforded no privilege and are subject to the whims of men, and if they stray from the social norms, the retribution can be swift and deadly. But they are no worse today in this medieval society than they were a thousand years ago. While it may be an affront to our western sensibilities, the societal norms of the area we call Afghanistan suit the disparate tribes which make up this region.

So rather than trying to build a functioning nation-state, which George Will points out in his 1 September 2009 column in the Washington-Post, the central government controls less than thirty percent of the country, perhaps we should admit the reality of Afghanistan and try another approach.

First, we must admit, that Afghanistan will never be a country in the Western sense. The best we can hope for is a lose alliance of tribal states working together when there are shared interest. Second, we should create tribal regions, where the tribes govern their respective people. Third, we must quit trying to reform the folkways of the region we call Afghanistan—Folkways and society must be reformed from within not from outside. Fourth, we should not waste energy of forming a National Police or Army, but rather should work within the confines of tribes to form regional militias, which are loyal to the tribe and who will do the bidding of the tribal leader. Fifth, corruption is an essential part of society in this region we are not going to change it, so why bother, only when the tribes find it to egregious will they end such practices.

We desire that Afghanistan look like the Western nation-state, unfortunately Westphalian Myopia prevents us from understanding from whence our own society comes. What we view as our form of Government did not spring forth the moment the settlers arrived in Jamestown in 1607 or for that matter spring forth the moment King John signed the Magna Charta. What we call representative democracy in both the United States and the United Kingdom has evolved over hundreds of years and will continue to evolve. Sometimes in our rush to impose our will we forget our own history and how our institutions developed. The absences of historical memory combined with Westphalian Myopia are dangerous combinations that threaten the health of our republic.

Can McCrystal succeed in the region we call Afghanistan? Yes if he, NATO, and the United States are willing to view the region we call Afghanistan as it is and not as we want it to be.