The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 instantly focused international attention on Afghanistan. Suddenly, we were confronted with the need to understand how and why social and political circumstances in that country could be diametrically opposed to the values and norms commonly associated with modern states and civil society.

This volume explores the question of whether Afghanistan is a country without a state. It includes contributions from twenty of the world's most distinguished experts on Afghanistan. Among the topics covered are the scope of humanitarian aid, the oppression of women, the logic of a war economy, and the potential for peace. Written and published prior to Afghanistan's liberation by U.S. forces, it nonetheless provides important background to Afganistan's past and future.