Rogue or ruler? An analysis of the Taliban's rebel governance structures and legitimation processes in Afghanistan.

Abstract

This research aims to increase the understanding of the legitimacy of rebel governance structures, by assessing the rebel governance case of the Taliban in Afghanistan since the establishment of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in 1996. The recent history of Afghanistan has been dominated by political fragmentation and violent struggle for power. After the mujahideen factions had proved to be unable to stabilise the country, the Taliban seized power. While this rebel group has often been portrayed as merely a violent, extractive and terrorist movement – especially in Western media, academic research has demonstrated a different side to its attempts to rule the Afghan population. As the formal government of Afghanistan is considered to be at least dysfunctional, the Taliban has gradually adopted ‘state functions’ over time, often at the detriment of the formal state structure. This eventually led to the establishment of a full-fledged parallel administration by the rebel organisation. This research argues that this so-called ‘shadow government’ can be considered legitimate in a pragmatic, symbolic and external sense of the concept. The provision of basic services, regulation of civilian life, symbolic display of power and the engagement in rebel diplomacy have strengthened the Taliban’s position as a significant and legitimate political actor, both on the local and international level. Their current unprecedented position arguably affords the rebel movement a reasonable level of influence on the political future of this war-torn state.