Introduction

This book theorises the patterns of political and socio-cultural integration in Afghanistan and the extent to which these policies have shaped cultural discrimination and inequality. It will explain shifts in the state’s policies and societal responses to different forms of governance of cultural diversity. By analysing how multiculturalism in Afghanistan is a “movement from below” and not a policy of the state, the study further seeks to identify indigenous formulations about administration and governance of cultural diversity in Afghanistan. Finally, the book aims to explore, discourses and imaginaries of belonging, and construction of a sense of congruities and differences. The period that the study covers starts from the Mujahideen capture of power in 1992 until the end of President Hamid Karzai’s term in 2014. The genesis of claims for ethnic rights can be traced to this period, culminating in the Bonn Agreement in 2001.