ABSTRACT
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan had three broad sets of consequences – consequences for Afghanistan itself; consequences for the Soviet Union; and consequences for the world at large.
Afghanistan
The Soviet departure brought no let up to the sufferings of the Afghan people. Against all expectations, the Najibullah regime did not collapse, the war continued and very few refugees were able to return to their homes. There were several reasons for Najibullah’s survival. One was that he was able to assert that the jihad was over and that the time had come for national reconciliation. While the steps he took in support of this thesis were largely cosmetic, they did have some limited effect. He laid the groundwork even before the Soviet departure, by holding elections in areas controlled by the regime and promulgating in 1987 a new constitution which provided, in theory, for freedom of the press and a multi-party system. This was followed in 1990 by a revised constitution which stressed the country’s Islamic character and abolished the PDPA as a specific institution of state, the party then changing its name to Hizb-i Watan (Homeland Party). Marxism was abjured and non-party figures were brought into the government. Behind the façade, however, Najibullah’s grip on power was only minimally diluted, against a background of continuing factionalism within the regime and a determination on the part of the resistance to see him removed.
