The political economy of intervention: power, insecurity and networks in Afghanistan, 2001–2021

Theros, Marika (2023) The political economy of intervention: power, insecurity and networks in Afghanistan, 2001–2021. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

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Abstract

This thesis explores the puzzle of persistent insecurity despite international peace-and-security interventions aimed at building states, market economies and civil society. It studies some of the ways in which local and global dynamics interact to reconstruct power, authority and (in)security in conflict-affected contexts. The focus is on Afghanistan (2001–2021), which provides a fertile setting for the study of the political economy of intervention and statebuilding given its long-standing conflict and the most extensive, well-resourced international peacebuilding intervention in recent times. An introduction and a methodology chapter bring together the overall framework and methodology, while highlighting the ethical and other challenges in conducting research in conflict zones. An initial paper, published in Stability: International Journal for Security and Development (https://doi.org/10.5334/sta.579), provides a detailed overview of the changing nature of conflict and statehood in Afghanistan pre- and post-2001 under President Karzai’s regime. It draws on different concepts of public authority to explain rising insecurity in the country and set the context for three empirical papers examining different aspects of the international intervention. The first empirical paper, published in the Journal of Civil Society (https://doi.org/10.1080/17448689.2019.1594083), takes a bottom-up perspective to understand how people experienced and navigated insecurity and the meanings they attached to their lived experiences of authority and change. The second paper provides a detailed analysis of the transnational politically-connected business networks that emerged around the Kabul Bank to show how economic reconstruction and neoliberal policies facilitated the emergence of a criminalised political economy that captured the state and fuelled the insurgency. The third empirical paper, published in International Affairs (https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiad092), applies constructivist analyses to the US peacemaking effort (2018-2021) and argues that emergent Western narratives, knowledge producers, and mediator practices interacted in a changing context to induce a significant policy shift in the US, legitimatising a coercive US approach that reshaped the interests and behaviours of Afghan stakeholders, with violent material consequences. The final chapter integrates the findings of the papers to draw conclusions and implications for policy and future research.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Additional Information:	© 2023 Marika Theros
Library of Congress subject classification:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions J Political Science > JA Political science (General) J Political Science > JZ International relations
Sets:	Departments > International Development
Supervisor:	Kaldor, Mary and Keen, David
URI:	http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/4631

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