THE US NATION-BUILDING AND DEMOCRATIZATION EFFORTS IN AFGHANISTAN IN 2001-2021

Gabit Zhumatay

THE US NATION-BUILDING AND DEMOCRATIZATION EFFORTS IN AFGHANISTAN IN 2001-2021

Abstract

Drawing upon the relevant literature and declassified documents related to the US war in Afghanistan, the study investigates Washington’s policy of nation- building and its imposition of a Western-style democracy on this war-ravaged nation. The results of the study have shown that despite its political, military and economic preponderance, the US failed to deliver a liberal democratic governance to the Afghan people. The US democratization efforts led to the establishment of a highly corrupt and incompetent puppet regime. The US tried to impose its political system on the country that has historically lacked a strong centralized government and where ethnic, tribal and regional identities and divisions have been deeply entrenched. Thus, the paper provides an in-depth analysis and discussion of American nation-building in Afghanistan, identifying and explaining the underlying reasons for the failures of its democratization efforts.

Keywords

Ethical Statement

This study did not require approval from an ethics committee as it did not involve human participants, animals, or sensitive personal data. All data used in this research were obtained from publicly available sources.

References

Buden, J. (2021). Remarks by President Biden on Afghanistan. White House Archives. https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/08/16/remarks-by-president-biden-on-afghanistan/
Bizhan, N. (2018). Building legitimacy and state capacity in protracted fragility: The case of Afghanistan (pp. 1–42). Oxford University.
Boucher, R. (2015). Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, lessons learned record of interview (Interview by M. Sternenberger & C. Rondeaux). National Security Archive. https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/24563-special-inspector-general-afghanistan-reconstruction-lessons-learned-record
Bush, G. W. (2002). First presidential State of the Union address. American Rhetoric. https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/stateoftheunion2002.htm
Bush, G. W. (2003). Second presidential State of the Union address. American Rhetoric. https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/stateoftheunion2003.html
Bush, G. W. (2004). Third presidential State of the Union address. American Rhetoric. https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/stateoftheunion2004.htm
Coll, S., & Entous, A. (2021). The fall of the Islamic Republic: The secret history of America’s final defeat in Afghanistan. The New Yorker, 97, 32–45.
Committee on Foreign Affairs. (2020). U.S. lessons learned in Afghanistan (Serial No. 116-91). Hearing before the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, Second Session. U.S. Government Publishing Office. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-116hhrg38915/html/CHRG-116hhrg38915.htm

Deutsch, K. W. (2017). Nation-building and national development. In K. W. Deutsch & W. J. Foltz (Eds.), Nation building: Comparative contexts (pp. xx–xx). Routledge.
Dobbins, J., Jones, S. G., Crane, K., Rathmell, A., Steele, B., & Timilsina, A. (2007). The beginner’s guide to nation-building. RAND Corporation.
Dodge, T. (2021). Afghanistan and the failure of liberal peacebuilding. Survival, 63(5), 47–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/00396338.2021.1982197
Fukuyama, F. (2004). State-building: Governance and world order in the 21st century. Cornell University Press.
Gates, R. (2015). Duty: Memoirs of a secretary at war. Vintage.
Ibrahimi, Y. (2024). Conflict and democratization in Afghanistan. Small Wars & Insurgencies, 35(7), 1151–1178. https://doi.org/10.1080/09592318.2024.2364449
Keane, C. (2016). US nation-building in Afghanistan. Routledge.
Partaw, A. M. (2023). The failure of democracy in Afghanistan. British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 51(4), 810–829. https://doi.org/10.1080/13530194.2022.2164480
Murtazashvili, J. (2022). The collapse of Afghanistan. Journal of Democracy, 33(1), 40–54.
Rosenberg, M. (2013). With bags of cash, C.I.A. seeks influence in Afghanistan. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/29/world/asia/cia-delivers-cash-to-afghan-leaders-office.html
Rubin, B. (2024). The two trillion-dollar misunderstanding – Sowing the seeds of instability from the very beginning. In J. V. Mathiesen & D. Vestenskov (Eds.), Still here: Understanding and engaging with Afghanistan after August 2021 (pp. 55–57). The Scandinavian Military Press.
Russett, B. (1993). Grasping the democratic peace: Principles for a post-Cold War world. Princeton University Press.
Saikal, A. (2024). How to lose a war: The story of America’s intervention in Afghanistan. Yale University Press.
Snider, J. (2022). Taliban 2.0 and US national security policy in Afghanistan. Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs, 9(3), 402–423. https://doi.org/10.1177/23477970221129905
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. (2016). Corruption in conflict: Lessons from the U.S. experience in Afghanistan. Arlington, VA.
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. (2017). Reconstructing the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces: Lessons from the U.S. experience in Afghanistan. Arlington, VA.
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. (2018). Stabilization: Lessons from the U.S. experience in Afghanistan (May 2018). Arlington, VA.
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. (2021). What we need to learn: Lessons from twenty years of Afghanistan reconstruction. Arlington, VA.
Tanner, S. (2002). Afghanistan: A military history from Alexander the Great to the fall of the Taliban. Da Capo Press.
Thomas, C. (2020). The Washington Post’s “Afghanistan Papers” and U.S. policy: Main points and possible questions for Congress. Congressional Research Service. https://crsreports.congress.gov
Thomas, C. (2022). Afghanistan: Background and U.S. policy: In brief. Congressional Research Service. https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/R/PDF/R45122/R45122.53.pdf
Walker, S. (2019). American foreign policy and forced regime change since World War II: Forcing freedom. Palgrave Pivot.
White House. (2002). Rebuilding Afghanistan. https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/infocus/nationalsecurity/rebuildingafghanistan.html
Whitlock, C. (2019). The Afghanistan Papers: A secret history of the war. At war with the truth. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/investigations/afghanistan-papers/afghanistan-war-confidential-documents/
Whitlock, C. (2021). The Afghanistan Papers: A secret history of the war. Simon & Schuster.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Politics in International Relations, International Relations (Other)

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Gabit Zhumatay ^*
0000-0003-0468-8538
Kazakhstan

Publication Date

July 30, 2025

Submission Date

June 9, 2025

Acceptance Date

July 10, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 7 Number: 3

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA64SU59EG

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Zhumatay, G. (2025). THE US NATION-BUILDING AND DEMOCRATIZATION EFFORTS IN AFGHANISTAN IN 2001-2021. Eurasian Research Journal, 7(3), 251-266. https://izlik.org/JA64SU59EG

AMA

1.Zhumatay G. THE US NATION-BUILDING AND DEMOCRATIZATION EFFORTS IN AFGHANISTAN IN 2001-2021. ERJ. 2025;7(3):251-266. https://izlik.org/JA64SU59EG

Chicago

Zhumatay, Gabit. 2025. “THE US NATION-BUILDING AND DEMOCRATIZATION EFFORTS IN AFGHANISTAN IN 2001-2021”. Eurasian Research Journal 7 (3): 251-66. https://izlik.org/JA64SU59EG.

EndNote

Zhumatay G (July 1, 2025) THE US NATION-BUILDING AND DEMOCRATIZATION EFFORTS IN AFGHANISTAN IN 2001-2021. Eurasian Research Journal 7 3 251–266.

IEEE

[1]G. Zhumatay, “THE US NATION-BUILDING AND DEMOCRATIZATION EFFORTS IN AFGHANISTAN IN 2001-2021”, ERJ, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 251–266, July 2025, [Online]. Available: https://izlik.org/JA64SU59EG

ISNAD

Zhumatay, Gabit. “THE US NATION-BUILDING AND DEMOCRATIZATION EFFORTS IN AFGHANISTAN IN 2001-2021”. Eurasian Research Journal 7/3 (July 1, 2025): 251-266. https://izlik.org/JA64SU59EG.

JAMA

1.Zhumatay G. THE US NATION-BUILDING AND DEMOCRATIZATION EFFORTS IN AFGHANISTAN IN 2001-2021. ERJ. 2025;7:251–266.

MLA

Zhumatay, Gabit. “THE US NATION-BUILDING AND DEMOCRATIZATION EFFORTS IN AFGHANISTAN IN 2001-2021”. Eurasian Research Journal, vol. 7, no. 3, July 2025, pp. 251-66, https://izlik.org/JA64SU59EG.

Vancouver

1.Gabit Zhumatay. THE US NATION-BUILDING AND DEMOCRATIZATION EFFORTS IN AFGHANISTAN IN 2001-2021. ERJ [Internet]. 2025 Jul. 1;7(3):251-66. Available from: https://izlik.org/JA64SU59EG