This volume studies the process of nation-state building, its role in
modernization and developments in Afghanistan following World War II to the
period of Soviet occupation of the country in December 1979, and the struggle of
various social strata for social transformation in the country. The book further
explores the policies of the two superpowers--the United States and the Soviet
Union--and their economic assistance in Afghanistan's modernization projects
following World War II. The book offers insight into this superpower struggle,
examining how each superpower tried to win Afghanistan to its side by supporting
a particular social strata within the state apparatus. Finally, it analyzes how
one of the