University of Sussex, 1 September 2024
A research paper by Magnus Marsden, professor of social anthropology and director of the Sussex Asia Centre.
From the introduction:
This report explores transformations in Afghanistan’s position in transregional dynamics from the perspective of the ground level up. A great deal has been written in academic and policy circles in recent years on the role played by regional actors in Afghanistan dynamics; the vast majority of this work focuses exclusively on the level of the state.2 The problem with such state-centric approaches is that they do not explore the experiences, strategies and tactics of non-state actors from Afghanistan who are mobile across a complex and transregional scale. It is important that such social actors and the forms of agency they exhibit are considered in discussions of regional and transregional dynamics, however. Non-state actors who are across transregional arenas play important roles in shaping the dynamics of such settings.3 The networks they form exert influence on communities, as well as states and their officials. Non-state mobile actors also play an important role as opinion formers and economic agents. Their connections to officials across multiple states also enables them to play the role of ‘informal’ or ‘everyday’ diplomats.
This report arises out of fieldwork conducted by the author with mobile people from Afghanistan whose lives and activities range across multiple yet connected Asian contexts. The fieldwork upon which the report is based was conducted in Uzbekistan (April 2022 and August 2022), Tajikistan (August 2022), Kazakhstan (May 2022), and Turkey (August 2023 and October 2023). It also builds on the author’s prior research on mobile Afghans living in these settings as well as Russia and China.4
The report is made-up of two parts. The first part provides regional background and context, emphasising the impact of the international intervention in Afghanistan on the country’s trading networks and the relationship of these to the wider region. The second section focuses in particular on the role played by Afghan merchants and traders in Turkey.5 It emphasises in particular the role these traders play in forging connections between Afghanistan and multiple settings across the wider region and providing the social infrastructure for Afghan community life in the country.
Revisions:
This article was last updated on 19 Jan 2025
