The Fragmentation of Afghanistan: State Formation and Collapse in the International System, Second Edition

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The tortured history of Afghanistan is illuminatingly outlined by Barnett S. Rubin, an American academic and human rights monitor in the region. In the 19th century, the country successfully resisted colonial rule, becoming a buffer between the imperial superpowers, Britain and Russia. That dangerous position resulted in an isolation that held back modernization and the emergence of a modern central government. In this century, the Soviet Union and the United States maintained the status quo up until the early seventies, when a communist coup heralded massive outside intervention. The country was ripe for a disastrous fragmentation. This scholarly study is complemented by a sequel: The Search for Peace in Afghanistan.

Book Description

This monumental book examines Afghan society in conflict, from the 1978 communist coup to the fall of Najibullah, the last Soviet-installed president, in 1992. This edition, newly revised by the author, reflects developments since then and includes material on the Taliban and Osama bin Laden. It is a book that now seems remarkably prescient. Drawing on two decades of research, Barnett R. Rubin, a leading expert on Afghanistan, provides a fascinating account of the nature of the old regime, the rise and fall of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, and the troubled Mujahidin resistance. He relates all these phenomena to international actors, showing how the interaction of U.S. policy and Pakistani and Saudi Arabian interests has helped to create the challenges of today. Rubin puts into context the continuing turmoil in Afghanistan and offers readers a coherent historical explanation for the country's social and political fragmentation.

Customer Reviews:

The Fragmentation of Afghanistan: State Formation and Collapse in the International System.......2005-07-08

This book is excellent. It describes in great detail how Great Britain, Russia, Th U.S. and now Pakistan have contributed to the destruction of the basic fiber of the country and the reasons this happened.

Fragmentation of Afganistan.......2005-07-06

I received two copiesof book and returned one. I did enjoy the book very much.

very detailed and well researched, but a tough read.......2004-03-01

Barry Rubin's account of the fragmentation of Afghanistan and the failure of the state is a very detailed in-depth account of the different parties involved, and the cobweb of international and national actors. I especially appreciated the new post September 11 preface to the second edition. It is a great book for the academic or those looking for a serious book on Afghanistan, however I would not recommend it for someone with little knowledge of the region and its and religous political struggles. Without an understanding of the region, the reader is not likely to get past the first chapter.

Solid academic political analysis.......2001-07-05

Afghanistan, in the perceptions of many, is a small, seemingly inconsequential country. It has experienced encroachment from the Soviets, Pakistanis, Persians, Mughals, Mongols, Ottoman Turks and has been on the receiving end of a mixed positive and negative American presence. The people of Afghanistan have endured governmental incompetence, nepotism, torture, murder, political Islam, political negligence, state formation and collapse, ethnic and tribal strife and civil war. Afghanistan has been affected by all major international economic and political crises and as Rubin suggests is "The Mirror of the World" as the first chapter is titled.

Barnett Rubin clearly knows his subject and gives the reader a masterful analysis of the social and political realities of Afghanistan and how those played out in the (many times lack of) governance of the country. The analysis includes the interrelationships and rivalries of tribes, the communist party, political elites, and fundamentalist Islamic clerics and their supporters. Rubin also discusses the origins as well as the failures of the state system to administer to even a small portion of the citizens. The state, unable to withstand the factional vying for power of those groups as well as those more on the margin of Afghan politics, collapsed.

There was little if any legitimacy to the state in much of recent Afghan history. In fact, most of the funding for social programs, infrastructure, as well as government employee paychecks were from international aid. There was exceedingly little investment in industry, which prevented the Afghans from repayment of loans. The feudal relations of tribes and khans many times held strong even through short sighted goverment incursions and policies enacted to assert its own hegemony. The reasons for the collapse of the Afghan government become quite clear when one reads such a compelling account of political failure.

Soviet control and manipulations are treated comprehensively and are well documented.

Rubin presents a thorough, nuanced, very well researched piece of sholarship and deserves much credit for teaching us the intricacies of state and political policy formation.

Solid academic political analysis.......2001-07-05

There was little if any legitimacy to the state in much of recent Afghan history. In fact, most officials were appointed by someone who simply forced his way into power. Another major problem for the political elites (and ultimately the citizens) was that most of the funding for social programs, infrastructure, as well as government employee paychecks were from international aid. There was exceedingly little investment of that aid in industry, which prevented the Afghans from repayment of loans and achieving economic and political independence.

The feudal relations of tribes and khans many times held strong even through short sighted goverment incursions and policies enacted to assert its own hegemony. The reasons for the collapse of the Afghan government become quite clear when one reads such a compelling account of political and economic failure.

Soviet control and manipulations are treated comprehensively and are well documented.

Rubin presents a thorough, nuanced, very well researched piece of sholarship and deserves much credit for teaching us the intricacies of state and political policy formation.

The one negative element I see is that it can be dry. However, that is usually a quality assigned by non-academics to academic writing. Although this is not light reading it should be clear that the book is highly informative.

The Fragmentation of Afghanistan: State Formation and Collapse in the International System, Second Edition
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The Fragmentation of Afghanistan: State Formation and Collapse in the International System, Second Edition
Barnett R. Rubin
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OS563O

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You might argue that there's no point to this English-language edition of a Russian book, because only the most feverish Russian monarchist could take seriously, as a political issue, the question of whether the last Tsar's heir survived the Bolshevik massacre at Ekaterinburg. But this is a bit like saying that it doesn't matter how Amelia Earhart died: a mystery is a mystery, each with its own special claims on our attention. We know that Cheka thugs buried two fewer bodies than they fired at, and forensic evidence shows that if those two got away, they were almost certainly Nicholas's two youngest children, Anastasia and Alexei. There have been many Alexei pretenders in Russia, but none with so well-documented a claim as the one presented (a little breathlessly) here, on behalf of the schoolteacher Vasily Filatov, who died in 1984. Computerized facial matching says that he must be Alexei, and there is an enormous amount of other circumstantial evidence. Intriguing ... as, in a rubber-necking sort of way, is the forensically detailed reconstruction of what happened on the murderous night of July 16 to 17, 1918. But note that the relevant genetic information about Filatov has not been disclosed. Many experts, using just the methods emphasized here, were convinced beyond doubt that Anna Anderson must have been Alexei's sister Anastasia ... until DNA samples showed up. So caveat lector. What really drives this book is the series of grainy, haunting images of Filatov: was he just a peasant turned teacher, or did those deep, inscrutable eyes, which do look so very, very like the eyes of the young tsarevitch, hide for six decades a terrible story about crawling away from a pile of corpses? --Richard Farr

Book Description

The Russian Romanov dynasty came to an abrupt end on the night of July 17, 1918, when the imperial family was executed by the Bolsheviks. Or did it? Compelling new evidence reveals that Tsarevich Alexei, the fourteen year-old son of Nicholas II and heir to the Russian throne, may have escaped the bloodshed and been adopted by a local family in a nearby village.

Meticulously researched and documented, The Escape of Alexei details how Bolshevik soldiers bungled the execution, leading to confusion and chaos during the shooting. Young Alexei was merely wounded and unconscious when he was loaded onto the back of a truck with corpses of his murdered family and driven to the secret burial site. Falling out of the truck en route and left for dead, he was found by sympathetic soldiers who attended to the young hemophiliac's wounds and helped him escape, introducing him into a peasant family where he grew up under the name of Vasily Filatov.

The world of Russia's heir to the throne turned upside down. Vasily Filatov became an apprentice shoemaker, and eventually a high school geography and history teacher. He married, had children, and told his family the story of the Tsarevich's escape in the third person, as historical narrative. he never explained how, as a village teacher living under the oppressive silence and censorship of the Soviet Union, he was fluent in several foreign languages, had an in-depth knowledge of the private life of the Romanov family, and an uncanny grasp of the details surrounding the 1918 execution. With the advent of perestroika in the 1980's, the Soviet archives were finally opened to the public and, to his family's amazement, many of the incredible stories that Vasily Filatov had told his with and children were revealed to the world as historical fact.

In this startling volume, three well-respected scientists provide a convincing, thoroughly documented account of how such an extraordinary escape was possible, and how the executioners managed to cover up the fact that the body of the heir to the throne was missing. Drawing on official records and documents from Russian archive, the grisly personal accounts of soldiers who took part in the execution, and utilizing the latest scientific and forensic technology, the authors offer evidence that Alexei Romanov and Vasily Filatov were on and the same.

Filatov died in 1988. But his widow and children provide intimate reminiscences that bring this astonishing tale to life. And 101 black-and-white personal photographs reproduced throughout the text demonstrate the remarkable physical resemblances between members of the Romanov and Filatov families.

Customer Reviews:

Nice, but not a match.......2006-03-06

It all boils down to this: there is no way that the little boy and the man in the front cover (or in any of the other pictures) are the same person. Alexei's eyebrows tend to be very square, yet Vasily's are drooping down. Age may change appearance, but there is the "essence of the person" and these two don't match. The rest of the story is interesting, especially the history, but the argument is not airtight or even water-tight. There are other explanations. As for the writing, the book tends to drag on at times, but overall it is entertaining reading.

entertaining read but very implausible.......2004-11-06

Although this book does an admirable job of piecing together a convincing argument that Tsarevich Alexei survived from circumstantial evidence, it will not convince anyone who knows anything about Russian history. Facial structure alone is no match for DNA analysis and simple facts. For my part, I didn't think that the picture of Filitov matched the picture of Alexei at all. Disregarding that, however, this book's conclusion is highly improbable. Multiple Romanov executioners have stated that one of them kicked the tsarevich in the head, and then Chekist Yakov Yurovsky shot Alexei three times point blank in the ear. Perhaps the authors do not believe this, but there is no chance anyone, let alone a hemophiliac, could survive that. The authors contend that Alexei was only seriously wounded, not dead, when he and his family were put into the truck and driven off to be buried, and that Alexei then fell out of the truck and escaped. Even if this is true, he would have bled to death in hours. Medical treatments were simply not available at that time to treat even minor bleeding. So while these authors provide the most believable explanation regarding the possible survival of Romanov family members, it is not believable enough to make this book worth buying.

Not convinced.......2004-06-18

I am a sucker for all things Romanov, and haven't read anything about the Russian Royal Family in a year or two. So I was anxious to start The Escape of Alexei by Vadim Petrov, Igor Lysenko and Georgy Egorov. Those looking to this book for a Romanov-fix won't find it here.

The premise that someone could have survived the Romanov massacre in Ekaterinburg in July 1918 is a tempting one. It gained even more momentum when two bodies turned up missing when the remains of the Royal Family were found in 1978. The group chosen to kill the Romanovs was a disorganized bunch, and the scene of the murder was complete chaos. But the theory that Vasily Filatov was actually the tsarevich Alexei is a laughable one.

First and foremost, there has been no DNA testing, and the authors give us lame excuses why this has not been done. We've already been duped by Anna Anderson, who was proven by DNA to be an impostor after her death. Second, the fact that a hemophiliac could live to the ripe old age of 83 stretches the imagination-especially without medical intervention. The book does have good photos, but the young Alexei looks nothing like Filatov. There are many statements made by Filatov's family, but just because Filatov loved the celebrate New Years' and birthdays, read poetry, or played classical music doesn't prove he was Alexei. Filatov also didn't seem to pass on much concrete information about growing up as the tsarevich. There are just too many gaps in the story, and too much lacking here.

The book itself is tedious at times-especially the background information at the beginning. The body of the book is only 176 pages, and much of it is repetition. And the 26 page appendix is filled with worthless information.

So, for true Romanov aficionados, I suggest you pass on The Escape of Alexei and pick up something a little more worthwhile.

Not very persuasive..........2003-11-05

I don't suggest this book at all. It was not very persuasive and in one of the pictures, one Grand Duchess is misidentified! You'd think their "brother" would know who is was! It seems completely made up.

Time Well Spent...Doing Something Else.......2002-06-11

This book is absolute rubbish! Don't even waste your money on it. You'd do better reading The Cat in the Hat rather than this. For any Romanov fan, this book is a must-a must throw in the trash. I don't know why people still insist that Aleksey survived Ekaterinburg. Just drop it. He didn't survive. Anastasiya didn't survive. Maria didn't survive. None of them survived! They most likely just burned the two "missing" bodies and scattered the ashes around the site...

The Escape of Alexei, Son of Tsar Nicholas II: What Happened the Night the Romanov Family Was Executed

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The Escape of Alexei, Son of Tsar Nicholas II: What Happened the Night the Romanov Family Was Executed
Vadim Petrov , Igor Lysenko , and Georgy Egorov
Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

Russia | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000MOL48G

Product Description

Vasily Filatov, a village teacher who lived under the harsh censorship and control of the Soviet Union, had an extraordinary knowledge of the private life of Tsar Nicholas II and his family. Inexplicably, he also knew top-secret details surrounding the 1918 execution of the Romanovs during the Russian Revolution. Then, in the 1980s, when Soviet archives were finally opened to the public during perestroika, the seemingly incredible stories Vasily Filatov had told his family were revealed to the world as historical fact. How did he know?

The escape of Alexei, son of Tsar Nicholas II : what happened the night the Romanov family was executed / by Vadim Petrov, Igor Lysenko, and Georgy Egorov ; with never-before-published personal reminiscences by the family of Vasily Filatov

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The escape of Alexei, son of Tsar Nicholas II : what happened the night the Romanov family was executed / by Vadim Petrov, Igor Lysenko, and Georgy Egorov ; with never-before-published personal reminiscences by the family of Vasily Filatov
Georgii Borisovich. Lysenko, Igor Vladimirovich. Petrov, Vadim Vadimovich Egorov
Manufacturer: New York : Harry N. Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000VZJHN0

Customer Reviews:

Humbling read..........2004-07-01

A book that doesn't so much define as begin to redefine the definition and parameters of human, animal and machine intellgence.

Mr. Warwick compares and touches on all three entities' capabilities, functions and consciousness but does not denote one group over the other. And further breaks down intelligence by narrower aspects ie nature vs nuture, evolution, testing, abnormalities, culture, gender, etc and their findings. Amongst his many points, he states that intelligence defined in a single dimension is inconclusive and should rather be measured in multi-dimensional planes or a full hemisphere to show a more accurate representation of different types of intellgence and its overall bearing on an entity. In his opinion, it is unfair or irrelevant to make any type of comparison or judgements based on one-dimensional IQ tests between genders, or different ethnicities since these tests are usually culturally biased. And the ramificaitions of doing so have been shown in the past. He speculates on the possible scope of AI (animal and/or artificial intelligence) and in doing so illustrates that there is so much we don't know nor can fathom by being human and not having the same perspective of the other entities.

Personally, I enjoyed this book that reads more like a long essay than a novel. I give Mr. Warwick credit for drawing up arguments that in the past has been dismissed due to ego and ignorance. His conclusions on what the world may be like when machines can compete against humans on more than one plane draws a sinsiter and maybe unpleasant future but the development of science and technology also paves way for a hybrid of human and machine intellgence that may help in the cause.

Qi Quest for Intelligence
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Qi Quest for Intelligence
Kevin Warwick
Manufacturer: LONDON BRIDGE
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000SEV5W0

Book Description

In Boiling Point, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ross Gelbspan argues that, unchecked, climate change will swamp every other issue facing us today. Indeed, what began as an initial response of many institutions-denial and delay-has now grown into a crime against humanity. Gelbspan's previous book, The Heat Is On, exposed the financing of climate-change skeptics by the oil and coal companies. In Boiling Point, he reveals exactly how the fossil fuel industry is directing the Bush administration's energy and climate policies -payback for helping Bush get elected. Even more surprisingly, Gelbspan points a finger at both the media and environmental activists for unwittingly worsening the crisis. Finally, he offers a concrete plan for averting a full-blown climate catastrophe.

According to Gelbspan, a proper approach to climate change could solve many other problems in our social, political, and economic lives. It would dramatically reduce our reliance on oil, and with it our exposure to instability in the Middle East. It would create millions of jobs and raise living standards in poor countries whose populations are affected by climate-driven disease epidemics and whose borders are overrun by environmental refugees. It would also expand the global economy and lead to a far wealthier and more peaceful world. A passionate call-to-arms and a thoughtful roadmap for change, Boiling Point reveals what's at stake for our fragile planet

Customer Reviews:

Enviro-skeptics are barbarians at the gate!.......2006-10-24

Better than your usual global warming book..and there a lot of good ones..(this is one of my favorite genres so to speak). Yes..this is a little more interesting. While it speaks about the science, there is more needed analysis of the "debate" and politics of this pressing and vast subject as well a very much needed scathing indictment of the American press' approach to the subject. The author offers some breathtaking solutions to this problem that could really make for a great new world. If only. If only. I'll mail a copy to the next president. Now..if only someone would write a whole book about how science is too dangerous (biotechnology excepted of course) for America as it threatens to make Americans think and challenge the status quo. Espcially at this point in our history. The Vatican once had America's attitude about science.

The Cusp of a Change.......2006-02-12

Gelbspan argues convincingly that we are all aparticipants in our environmental well-being and that the changes wrought are just beginning to be felt. Climate change, he asserts, has come from our relentless production of greenhouse gases and it seems the weight of scientific opinion is lining up behind him.

The effcts are multi-dimensional including changes in weather patterns with resultant decrements in crop production and distressing increments in disease distribution as insect vectors find the warmer climate more to their liking.

His logic is, unfortunately, hard to refute, his prose easily comprehended and his tone earnest, if alarmist. This book should be read by everybody in congress.

Hot stuff!.......2006-02-06

Gelbspan is angry. His wrath is prominent on nearly every page of this stimulating work. He's irate because he's convinced climate change looms as a threat to our planet. Certain that today's nearly runaway "global warming" is at least accelerated by our society, if not basically initiated by our industrialised lifestyle, he vigorously censures the perpetrators. Living in the USA, and aware of how much his nation contributes to the worsening condition of our biosphere, he addresses his treatise directly at his fellow countrymen. Resource and energy industries have combined to blind North Americans to the results of their high profit commercial ventures. "Wake up!", Gelbspan admonishes. "You've been led into a bad situation! Fix it!"

The author's unsparing in his condemnation of lax standards and half-hearted solutions. No segment of contemporary US society, whether energy producer, consumer, politician is exempted from condemnation. Even environmental activists don't escape his lash. His primary target is the fossil fuel and coal industries. With their long-standing role as the foundation of US economic growth, they've grown nearly omnipotent. That power has been applied to guiding political figures in their development, or dearth, of policies regarding environmental issues. As the planet's largest producer of polluting agents, Gelbspan wants the US to start countering the prowess of industrial lobbyists in his nation. The time for action is overdue. And the solutions are available to be implemented. The first step is for the current adminstration to recognise that climate change is happening and much of it is human-induced. The time for obfuscation and delaying tactics is past.

Knowing how difficult it is for most citizens to cut through the propaganda they've been inundated with, Gelbspan provides a wealth of references to studies justifying his ire. The mass of evidence should convince the "enviro-sceptics" dominating the Bush administration and guiding journalists. Gelbspan recognises the "equal time" philosophy dominating most issues in the US, but charges that "equal time" is a fallacy when "the other side" is producing false or misleading information. Publishing "selective results" is anathema to any researcher worth the name, but it's rich fare for subservient politicians and lobbyists.

The solutions are available, says Gelbspan. He lists and examines several proposed plans of action. Most are found wanting for a variety of reasons. He's clear in why he considers them inadequate, noting that most are good, but cannot provide effective action in the needed time span or geographic scope required. The US may be the planet's worse polluter, but the problem is global, not confined by two oceans, a river and the "world's longest undefended border". His endorsement goes to The World Energy Modernization Plan put together in 1998 by a consortium of executives and experts in various fields. "The World" aspect in the group's title represents the need to gain firm support from many nations to implement the plan. The Montreal Protocol of 1987 diminishing atmospheric flourocarbons is an example the Plan could follow. It drastically reduced a serious threat to the upper atmosphere without impinging on the chemical's manufacturers to continue profitable operation. Where changing to new, safer chemicals worked there, changing to carbon-free energy can have the same effect now. To find out how it works, read Gelbspan's case and proposed solution. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Important Topic, but Boring and Lacking Credibility!.......2006-01-10

"It is an excruciating experience to watch the planet fall apart piece by piece in the face of persistent and pathological denial." So begins "Boiling Point," a book filled with early symptoms of earth's warming - melting icecaps and glaciers, species moving northward, increasing temperatures, storms, and the severity of those storms. Gelbspan then goes on to place the blame for the U.S. not taking positive corrective action on oil and coal company lobbying, a weak press, and morally corrupt politicians. (President Bush is not the only politician to disappoint Gelbspan - President Putin also rejected the Kyoto treaty, though Gelbspan missed the most obvious reason - warming would benefit Russian agriculture.)

Clearly global warming is a very important topic, as is declining sources of carbon-based fuels. The "good news" is that both issues can be addressed through the same actions, and there are many very good books out there on the coming energy shortage. The "bad news" is that "Boiling Point" is boring and way too long, and that Gelbspan lacks the credibility that a respected scientist would have on this topic.

Re: Boiling Point.......2006-01-08

It's always good to come across some whole truth on this topic, considering how much misinformation and half-truth we see on the web and even in the media. Many people are quick to accept, without further research, things like petitions on climate change, claims that the Arctic (or the globe) is actually cooling, or that we shouldn't be concerned because climate change has happened in the past (which ignores the nature of the current trend - something unseen since a highly volcanic prehistory). Books like this, along with sites like GlobalWarmingTruth.org and RealClimate.org, provide the "rest of the story" and help people understand they're being bamboozled.

Although the book is a little strong on rhetoric in places, I like it's discussion of potential solutions, and the way it encourages people to consider the source of contrarian claims. If it's not firmly rooted in peer-reviewed science, get out the salt.

Climate In Crisis: The Greenhouse Effect and What We Can Do

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Climate In Crisis: The Greenhouse Effect and What We Can Do
Albert Bates
Manufacturer: BOOK PUBLISHING COMPANY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Environmental Science | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

Conservation | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

General | Conservation | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Book Description

One of the clearest pictues of the greenhouse effect - why its happening and what we can do about it. Graphs and illustrations to help you visualize the facts. With a forword by Vice-President Al Gore.

Climate in Crisis: The Greenhouse Effect and What We Can Do.: An article from: The Futurist

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Climate in Crisis: The Greenhouse Effect and What We Can Do.: An article from: The Futurist
Cynthia G. Wagner
Manufacturer: World Future Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Futurist, published by World Future Society on March 1, 1991. The length of the article is 1383 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Climate in Crisis: The Greenhouse Effect and What We Can Do.
Author: Cynthia G. Wagner
Publication: The Futurist (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 1, 1991
Publisher: World Future Society
Volume: v25 Issue: n2 Page: p36(2)

Article Type: Book Review

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