ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that mujahideen jihad rule which marks the triumph in Afghanistan of political Islam imparted to the conflict a new kind of ethnic dimension and content. The fall of Kabul symbolized the ultimate victory of the mujahideen jihad and paved the way for realization of the proclaimed common cause of all mujahideen parties. The chapter focuses on the rise of ethno-politics following the collapse of Dr Najibullah's government in light of the dramatically altered socio-political and military landscape. It analyses the shifting nature of political alignments and realignments over the course of the conflict which it is argued were shaped by a complex interplay of triadic fields of the nationalizing state, national minorities and external actors. Disintegration of the Soviet Union by December 1991 and the resultant drying up of aid flows dealt a fatal blow to the Afghan government's grip on power.
