Book Review: Barnett R Rubin, Afghanistan from the Cold War through the War on Terror
| Published date | 01 February 2017 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1478929916672954 |
| Author | Priyanka Singh |
| Date | 01 February 2017 |
| Subject Matter | Book ReviewsAsia and the Pacific |
Book Reviews 163
the Indian federal government, and here we
find all sorts of materials such as speeches,
public letters and administrative decisions.
This means that the reader has to work hard
with the texts presented, as the short com-
ments by the author are rather general in tone.
However, this is nonetheless interesting and
highly relevant reading.
Ramesh has a long experience with the so-
called Great Green Growth Gamble from hav-
ing acted in several roles, both academically
and politically. All the materials published in
this book are highly relevant for quickly
understanding the conditions for ecological
policy-making in the largest country in the
world. The different policy areas covered by
these materials are as follows: India’s depend-
ency on coal and the immense need for elec-
tricity, the implementation gap in regard to
environmental legislation and decrees coupled
with the clash between economic growth and
environmental protection, India’s great eco-
logical vulnerability in terms of global warm-
ing and environmental degradation and the
drying up of the rivers due to India’s hydro-
electricity programme and the loss of land due
to rising sea levels.
Interestingly, Ramesh emerged from the
growth lobby but turned ecologically friendly
when faced with all the demands for clearances
for ecological interference. No wonder he was
controversial as a minister, considered both an
advocate for growth and also the ‘No Go’ man.
He is very well-established in the global dis-
cussions concerning climate change policy-
making and claims that India has a major
contribution to render in the debate about the
necessary growth–ecology trade-off.
Although the book is well-written and
informative about conflicts over the environ-
ment in this huge country, Ramesh does not
always convince his readers that India has
found the right track. India is poised to become
the largest CO2 polluter in the world, and envi-
ronmental degradation has hardly been stopped
here either.
Jan-Erik Lane
(Public Policy Institute, Belgrade)016
© The Author(s) 2016
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DOI: 10.1177/1478929916668281
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Afghanistan from the Cold War through the
War on Terror by Barnett R Rubin. New York:
Oxford University Press, 2013. 504pp., £22.50 (h/b),
ISBN 9780199791125
Post 9/11, Afghanistan has been the fulcrum
of the regional security matrix. The country
marks the confluence of key strategic engage-
ment by regional players and external powers
led by the United States. Afghanistan has
determined the strategic priorities of the
major powers even while it was faced with
the extensive challenges of civil strife and
an unrelenting war against the fundamental-
ist forces, characterised by the rise of the
Taliban.
The latest span of the struggle in the ‘grave-
yard of empires’ dates back to the Cold War–
driven Soviet intervention in the country,
followed by an upsurge in fundamentalist
forces that continue to plague Afghanistan. The
politico-ethno-security momentum witnessed
in the country has been adroitly encapsulated
in Afghanistan from the Cold War through the
War on Terror by Barnett Rubin – one of the
most prolific and authoritative writers, com-
mentators and experts on Afghanistan.
The book comprises Rubin’s previously
published works and represents the grand cul-
mination of his writing covering the expansive
spell of war in Afghanistan. Rubin’s stint with
the US government and the UN as well as peri-
ods of tenure at prestigious institutions has
bolstered his in-depth understanding of the
country. The book is divided into three parts.
The prelude captures developments between
the two wars of 1989 and 2001, the middle
section focusses on nation building, and the
concluding section looks at the return to war.
The book also includes co-authored pieces
with other eminent experts on Afghanistan. It
is a comprehensive analysis of Afghanistan’s
political history, socio-economic parameters
and the reconstruction drive led by the West.
Afghanistan from the Cold War through the
War on Terror collates key suggestions on
Afghanistan’s future such as the benefits of
opening up the Durand Line. Such an initiative
could potentially integrate the Pashtun belt eco-
nomically, socially and culturally and thus
confer a sense of commonality and facilitate
Pakistan’s and Afghanistan’s access to Central
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