Ungoverned Spaces: The Challenges of Governing Tribal Societies

摘要

This thesis addresses the efforts of different regimes to establish their authority over the Pashtun ethnic group. The Pashtun are at the heart of the conflict in Afghanistan, which also reaches into northwestern Pakistan. They provide a current example of why 'ungoverned spaces' -- geographic regions beyond the reach of central authority -- have become such an important topic among many of the world's countries. People who exist within a sovereign state's borders and outside the state's authority present a potentially dangerous problem to both the state itself and the international community. To address the challenges facing a state attempting to establish its authority over the Pashtun, this thesis identifies normative and organizational structures associated with rural Pashtun tribes and discusses how these factors impede the creation of central state authority. These factors are applied to three cases -- concerning Britain, Pakistan, and the Soviet Union -- that involved a modern government's efforts to establish its authority over the Pashtun. In almost every case, the state failed when it either misunderstood the importance of these structural factors or willfully ignored them to pursue other interests. The most successful case occurred when the government of Pakistan focused on integrating the Pashtun by providing education, transportation, and health services. The intent was to bring the Pashtun into Pakistan's mainstream society. Unfortunately, this effort was short-lived due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Looking beyond the Pashtun case, the research in this thesis suggests that policies focused purely on suppression, isolation, or accommodation are destined to fail in establishing state authority. The common failing of these three policies occurs when the state fails to understand the difference between establishing order and establishing authority. Most often, a policy focused on a give-and-take relationship with a tribe appears to work best.