ABSTRACT
This chapter briefly discusses major developments in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led invasion of the country. I argue that during the past two decades, the country has gone through continued cycles of tragedies beginning with its U.S.-led international occupation and leading to the rerise of the Taliban. The chapter demonstrates key themes of the book surrounding U.S. War on Terror and state-building discourses which, it argues, have had drastic consequences for the people of Afghanistan. The chapter discusses the theoretical and methodological frameworks employed, offers a brief and critical review of the discourses of state-building, and puts them in the context of this research before describing the book structure and organization.
